Africa

Pius Ayinor
Egypt, Ghana confirm entries

The fear of possible postponement or outright cancellation of the African Club Championship billed for Abuja from April 24th to May 1st may have disappeared with the Nigeria Hockey Federation (NHF) getting funds approval from the Federal Ministry of Sports and Social Development.


The Secretary of the Federation Toyin Aluko confirmed the development to THISDAYSports yesterday.

"We are on course as scheduled. I am glad to announce that we now have cash coming in from the Ministry. By next week I would be in a good position to announce all the details," Aluko said.

Before she spoke with us yesterday, followers of the game had expressed fears of at least a shift in date for the event even though the NHF had always insisted the competition would hold bearing in mind possible sanctions from the African governing body. The hope the Federation placed on getting big sponsorship while drawing up the budget fizzled out as the date drew nearer and nothing has come forth from that source.

But just as cash is coming in for the event, it is not the same situation for entries for the championship. Although 10 clubs have confirmed their participation, four of these are Nigerian teams. The foreign interest remains only the entries from Egypt and Ghana.

The Egyptians have registered El Shekiah, who are the men's defending champions. Their female side will accompany them while the ladies of Club El Sayadeen complete the trio from the North African country. From the West Coast Ghana is fielding Exchequers and Trustees Clubs in the male category. The Extinguishers Club will represent them in the female event.

From Nigeria are Delta Force and Yobe Desert Rollers in the men's event. For the women are Heartland Hockey Club of Owerri and Maryam Bukhar Ibrahim Queens.

The Kenyans, who are the female defending champions, and the South Africans as well have specifically stated that they will not show up in Abuja.

"The clubs from those countries explained they are not adequately financially equipped to travel this far. Whichever way, we have made headway in hosting at continental level for the first time. Next time we can then work towards hosting at a bigger level like the Nations Cup," Aluko said.

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