Lakers disarm Ghana Army in ACCC tourney

Lakers, who are debuting at the annual competition, were a class act and dictated the game from the second quarter to the end. In Summary • The win saw the Austin Tuju-coached Lakers top the log with seven points, a point better off than second-placed Army. • Elsewhere, Nigeria’s Police Machine silenced Zimbabwe’s Hippo 4-2. Henry Olanyinka scored a hattrick for Machine in the third, 16th and 47th minutes respectively. Alice Owiti and Aurelia Opondo scored for Lakers as the Kenyans beat Army Ladies of Ghana 2-0 at the ongoing African Club Championships at the City Park Stadium on Wednesday. Lakers, who are debuting at the annual competition, were a class act and dictated the game from the second quarter to the end. Owiti and Opondo scored in the 15th and 42nd minutes respectively to give the Kisumu-based side their second win in the week-long competition. The win saw the Austin Tuju-coached Lakers top the log with seven points, a point better off than second-placed Army. In the men’s category, Ghana Revenue Authority beat Moshi Khalsa from Tanzania 10-1. The trio of Courage Boyefio, Ernest Opoku and Godsway Adae all grabbed braces. Luke Kofi, Joshua Kwaku, Assah Akwasio and Christopher Dogbe managed one goal apiece. James Paulo scored a consolation for Moshi. Elsewhere, Nigeria’s Police Machine silenced Zimbabwe’s Hippo 4-2. Henry Olanyinka scored a hattrick for Machine in the third, 16th and 47th minutes respectively. Sunday Orinya also got himself on the scoresheet in the 43rd minute. Gift Chomunorwa and Tatenda Kanyangarara found the back of the net for Hippo.   Source:star.co.ke | February 15, 2023

South African Hockey declines invitation to the FIH Pro League

February 15, 2023 Following the South African Hockey Men’s victory at the FIH Nations Cup in Potchefstroom the team had earned a spot in the FIH Pro League subject to specific financial obligations being met by the January deadline and as a result we could not accept our place in this competition. Since the beginning of 2022, the South African Hockey Association secured funding to pay for the Men’s Pro League, the Aslan Shah Cup in Malaysia, the Men and Women Nations Cups as well as both Men and Women World Cup events. We won the Men’s Nations Cup at the beginning of December and the due date for submission to the FIH was on 16 January 2023. With the short timelines, our ability to communicate effectively was compromised. The South African Hockey Association is immensely proud of the strides that our national Hockey teams are making and we are simultaneously disappointed that we could not secure a sponsor to support the positive progress of our men’s program by having our team play in the pro league 23/24 with those short timelines. As a National Federation our annual revenue is less than the amount required to fulfil the minimum financial requirement by the FIH for entry into the pro league (Approximately R10 million). However, discussions will be held with the team as we continue working to give them the best opportunity to maintain their positive trend. We hope that results of our teams as well as the results at the recent indoor world cup will open the eyes of corporate South Africa to the opportunity of supporting the efforts of our national teams. As the South African Hockey Association, we have 8 national teams to take care of with limited funding, hence players having to pay for certain events and preparation for events.