Nsalbini: Poor preparation affected local clubs in ACCC tourney

The Skipper of the national hockey team, Salia Nsalbini, has attributed the poor performance of Ghanaian clubs at the just-ended Africa Cup for Club Champions (ACCC) to inadequate preparations for the tournament.

“Ghana hosted the tournament but the various teams that represented us were made up of new players, many of whom had not had much experience in such a high profile competition. Others were also on the injury list so this might have had an adverse effect on our performance in the tournament,” Nsalbini, who featured for Ghana Army, explained in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic.

Apology

While apologising to hockey fans for their poor performance, Nsalbini said he was hopeful that the various teams would put their act together and bounce back strongly to take their rightful positions in future continental tournaments.

The Ghana Police Service, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Ghana Army represented the nation in the male division of the 2021 ACCC held at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium in Accra.

The tournament, which ended last Tuesday, saw three Egyptian teams - Tairat, Eastern Company and Zamalek - and Kada Stars from Nigeria vie for honours.

In the female division, eventual champions, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Ladies; Ghana Prisons Ladies, who finished second; Delta Queens and Plateau Queens from Nigeria took part.