Stanbic Bank Ghana to Sponsor Greater Accra Hockey Gala Competition

Born out of Africa for Africa and believing in the potential of Africa as a continent, Stanbic Bank prides itself as committed to creating prosperity and giving back to the communities in which they operate and especially to the people. As part of their corporate social responsibility and the drive to contribute to the development of the most valuable resource of the communities therefore, Stanbic Bank Ghana has reached an agreement with the Greater Accra Hockey Association (GAHA) to sponsor its annual Gala Competition for an initial three year period commencing the 2008 Hockey season. The objective is to make an indelible contribution towards the physical, psychological and mental development of people through sports.

The GAHA 2008 Stanbic Bank Hockey Gala will come off on Saturday May 10 at the National Hockey Pitch. The one day competition will feature 4 senior men’s teams, 4 women’s teams and 7 men’s teams. The senior men’s team will include defending champions NDK Financiers, league champions Multistix with Veterans and Citizens seeking to rise above the two in competition. The women’s teams will be made up of defending Champions Extinguishers of Fire Service, CEPS, Reformers of Ghana Prisons and Police Service while the men’s competition will feature defending champions CEPS, league champions Exchequers of Bank of Ghana, Trustees of SSNIT, Golden Sticks of Ghana Commercial Bank, Reformers of Prisons, Ghana Army and Police Service.

The parings released by the secretariat of GAHA revealed that in the first match of the day, CEPS will slug it out with Golden Sticks at 6:30am in the men’s category to set the tone for a day of fierce competition. That match will be followed by another cracker when rivals Multistix take on Citizens in the first match of the seniors division. The second seniors’ match between NDK Financiers and Veterans will follow immediately. The first ladies match will be between CEPS and Extinguishers in a battle for bragging rights considering the events of the previous year.

According to the Regulations released by the secretariat, the competition will be played in accordance with the current rules of world hockey. In view of the nature of the competition however, each match will be played over a 30 minutes period with 15 minutes each half. The final matches will however be played over a 40 minutes period with 20 minutes each half. In the event of a draw, the penalty stroke competition will be applied with each team taking 5 strokes to determine the winner. In the event of a tie, the ‘sudden death’ rule in the penalty stroke competition will be applied.

At stake will be three glittering and magnificent trophies for the winners. Additionally, for the first time in the history of any GAHA competition, winners’ medals would also be given with various individuals who distinguish themselves during the competition being awarded prizes.

The hockey family welcomes Stanbic into their fold and look forward to a great collaboration for the mutual benefit of both parties.