Richard Akpokavie’s association with hockey started in 1973 during the early years of his secondary (high) school days. He played for the Ghana senior national hockey team for 18 years, starting in 1976. Based on his skillfulness, he was selected to play for the national U21 team from 1977 – 1981 and represented Ghana at the 1st FIH U21 Junior World Cup in 1979. He captained the U21 junior team from 1980 – 1981 and the senior team from 1983 – 1994. Richard thereafter served on the executive committee of the Greater Accra Hockey Association (GAHA) in various capacities in the 1990s where he joined others to radically transform the association into a successful one.

He joined the Executive Board of the Ghana Hockey Association (GHA) in 2002 as head of the technical committee and led the transformation of the national hockey teams to become more successful and recognized on the continent. In 2005 he became the Vice President of the GHA till 2014 when he was elected as President.

During his tenure, the GHA executed major projects like the “Futures hockey program for girls” with the Australian Sports Commission and the FIH TAP West Africa in collaboration with AfHF, FIH and England Hockey. During his administration, national hockey teams became more successful leading to the senior women’s team qualifying for the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 2018, the Junior women’s team taking part in the FIH Junior World Cup for the first time in 2013, and the men’s and women’s teams being consistently ranked 3rd and 2nd respectively on the continent.

He is an FIH international technical official and has served on several FIH committees. He is currently the Chair of the AfHF Officials Committee and a member of the FIH Officials Committee. He has also served as the Secretary General of the Ghana Olympic Committee and currently is its President. The FIH recognized his long and outstanding achievements and contribution to hockey by awarding him the Order of Merit in 2020.