Hockey�s revival faces crushing blow

Dumisani Ncube | Wednesday January 27, 2016 14:40

 

BHA is facing a financial crisis, which has forced the national team to cancel December training camps.

“Players in provincial teams failed to report for the December camp where we were supposed to start the selection of players, but we could not because of funds,” BHA chairperson, Unaswi Matebu said.

She said the financial situation is so dire that they cannot even sustain one national team. The junior men and women’s senior teams are preparing for the World Hockey League One in Ghana in April.

Matebu said the association hopes to secure funds as soon as possible in order to arrange a camp next month.

“Additionally, we do not have a hockey pitch. We used the Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) artificial turf, but it has since closed. If we had funds, we would try to find a place of our own. Without funds and infrastructure, players will end up losing motivation which will lead to us starting over again,” she said.

Matebu said the men’s team might miss out on the Ghana trip, which would mean losing their rankings. In the meantime, national team players train in their respective regions and resumed training last week.

The local hockey league is expected to start in March, but without infrastructure and funds it would be a difficult season.

The Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) chairperson, Solly Reikeletseng said BHA was allocated land three years ago but it is still not developed. He urged BHA to come up with ways to develop the plot. Hockey was resurrected last year after a six-year hiatus with the national team participating at the Greenfields Africa Hockey Championship in Randburg, South Africa where they performed badly.