As a result of the decision to cancel the qualifiers, the local Under-21 hockey teams will miss out on the Junior World Cup. On Tuesday, Africa Hockey Federation (AfHF) moved to cancel the Junior Africa Cup (JAC), which was to be played in Namibia from August 14-22, 2021. The tournament, which is used as a continental qualifier for the world spectacle, was cancelled due to the escalating number of COVID-19 cases in Namibia. The continental competition was supposed to serve as a qualifier to the Junior World Cup with two teams qualifying from both the men and women categories.
In a press statement, the AfHF said due to the situation in Namibia, results from the previous tournament played in 2016 will be used to determine the two teams that advance to the global tournament in both the men and women categories. “The AfHF has been forced to take this decision given the unfortunate news of the highly contagious COVID-19 variant(s) hitting Namibia and the surrounding countries and the impossibility of having another postponement based on valid reasons as discussed with the FIH,” reads part of the statement. BHA bemoaned the continental mother body’s decision to call off the tournament. Speaking to Mmegi Sport, BHA vice president-technical and national team head coach, Thabatshe Mogorosi said the association had pulled out of the tournament due to financial constraints but would have jumped at the opportunity of hosting the qualification tournament. “We strongly believe that it is a bit unfair. They could have spoken well on time based on the date of the decision that was taken. They should have at least allowed countries (or) offer them a chance to at least bid to host the competitions. For some countries, it will be unfair, as Botswana may have tried to be part of the bid. But since the mother body has decided that there will be no bidding, we have to accept but we are not satisfied,” Mogorosi said.
