Hockey teams for Africa tourney in Johannesburg

The national male and female hockey teams are set to participate in an Olympic Games qualifying  tournament  scheduled for Johannesburg,­ South Africa this month from the 23rd to 30th.

While the male team will fly to Johannesburg on Saturday, their female counterparts will leave the following day to enable them acclimatise in the city and get accustomed to the pitch before the tournament gets underway.

Beside the host country, Ghana will meet formidable teams from Egypt, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uganda, Namibia, Kenya, as well as Zambia and Nigeria.

The female team from Egypt will, however, not participate in the tournament,which is  expected to renew the rivalry among the participating teams  as each is poised to pick the single slot to represent Africa in both the Olympics and World Games scheduled for the United Kingdom in 2018.

The tournament should have taken place in Congo Brazzaville during the All Africa Games, but was shifted to Johannesburg due to lack of hockey pitches in Congo.

Briefing Graphic Sports about the tournament, an executive member of the Ghana Hockey Association, Madam Elizabeth Safoah King, said 48 players and officials were making the trip.

Explaining, she said, 18 players each for the male and female teams, eight technical handlers each, and a leader for each of the teams, would make the trip.

She said, notwithstanding the numerous challenges confronting them, they were poised to brush aside all opposition that would come their way to emerge winners.

“The winner of the tournament automatically qualifies to participate in both the Olympics and World Games slated for The United Kingdom in 2018.That is why we embarked on non-residential training since July to fine-tune our preparations, and it has worked very well. We have also resumed residential camping since October 2, indicating that we are not taking anything to chance”, she assured.

Madam Safoah King said beside the local preparations, the female hockey team embarked on a training tour in the United Kingdom sponsored by the UK Hockey Association.

“We have high expectations because players have prepared well for the tournament and are poised to qualify to play in both the Olympics and World Games in 2018.

“That is why the UK Hockey Association sponsored the female team for the two-week training tour, so we cannot let them down”, she noted.

“Egypt, South Africa and Kenya are among the teams that will offer stiff opposition to Ghana, but we are well prepared for them. We want to pick the single slots to enable us qualify for both the Olympics and World Games in 2018, hence the seriousness we attach to the tournament” she stressed.

The GHA executive member said the teams had been experiencing challenges regarding air fare, accommodation, usage fees on the pitches,  as well as meals and  internal transportation in South Africa, but said that notwithstanding, they were striving to motivate the players to offer their best.