Ghana Hockey Outlines Plans for 2008

The Ghana Hockey Association (GHA) has outlined its plans for the year stating that it will focus largely on preparatory works towards the hosting of the Hockey Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Ghana in 2009 and the introduction of an annual second cycle schools hockey competition to be sponsored by NDK Financial Services. He also informed the hockey family that the Ghana was scheduled to participate in the Africa Hockey Federation’s Juniors Cup of Nations for both boys and girls in Cairo in July. The competition will also serve as a qualifier for the Junior World Cup to be staged in 2009.

In his address to mark the completion of the first year of the Greater Accra Hockey Association IPMC Hockey League, the Chairman of the GHA, Oko-Nikoi Dzani congratulated the GAHA for their pioneering role in Regional hockey organization and encouraged the remaining Regions to strive to attain this level of organization. He paid tribute to the clubs, the players, officials and the Institutions that have continuously committed to supporting the growth of the sport. He expressed the appreciation of the GHA to IPMC and other sponsors and especially to Government for the massive support the sport received during the year. He was confident that with such support forms, the sport will see more development and Ghana hockey will grow to compete at the highest level of world hockey.

Mr. Dzani made it known that the GHA had prepared and handed over to the Chief Executive of the National Sports Council for further action an elaborate document outlining what was to be done between now and September 2009 when the Cup of Nations would be staged in the country. He disclosed some aspects of the content of the document as the construction of two state-of-the-art water-based artificial pitches which was a standard requirement for any International Hockey Federation (FIH) sanctioned competition. He expressed his confidence that government will lead the way and also provide the enabling environment for sponsors to partner in making the hosting of the tournament possible stating that ‘government has continuously allocated resources to the sport in recent times and that is a show of commitment to its development’. He encouraged institutions like the Bank of Ghana, Ghana commercial Bank, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), COCOBOD and other partners to come on board like they did during the construction of the first ever artificial turf in Accra in 1999 to enable the realization of this dream.