Standings and results after 3 days of play | 13th African Games Accra 2023 Country/Team Scores Ghana vs Nigeria (M) (1 – 0) Egypt  vs Kenya (M) (3 – 2) Egypt  vs Nigeria (M) (5 – 4) Kenya vs Ghana (M) (1 – 3) Nigeria vs Kenya (M) (2 – 1) Ghana vs Egypt (M) (0 – 1) Ghana vs Kenya  (4 – 1) Nigeria vs Ghana  (0 – 1) Nigeria vs Kenya  (1 – 0)

The President of the African Hockey Federation (AfHF), Seif El Dine Ahmed, has stepped forward to assure the safety of Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium for all participating countries, following the recent withdrawal of South Africa from the 13th African Games amid concerns by South African officials about the safety and readiness of the venue for the competition. Acknowledging the challenges in venue preparation due to delays by the contractor, Mr Ahmed maintained that after meetings, all participating federations had agreed to proceed with the competition. He expressed gratitude to the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for their dedication to ensuring high-quality hockey in Africa, emphasising the paramount importance of player safety. South Africa’s withdrawal from both the men’s and women’s hockey teams last Monday highlighted concerns over the readiness of Theodosia Okoh Stadium. The South African Olympic governing body, SASOC, cited the unsuitability of the pitches despite repeated assurances of their readiness for international-standard competition. Seif El Dine Ahmed (second from left) addressing the media in the presence of officials of the LOC and Ghana Hockey Federation. While acknowledging international certification rules for qualifying events, Mr Ahmed clarified that the African Games hockey competition did not fall under such qualifications. He pointed out that among the 25 African countries recognised by the Africa Hockey Federation, only South Africa had a certified pitch. However, he expressed optimism that the Theodosia Okoh Hockey pitch would attain certification by October, coinciding with the U-21 African Hockey tournament. “We had challenges to finish the turf in time; it was out of our hands at the African Hockey Federation and LOC. I would like to thank the LOC for trying to bring the best of hockey to Africa, and we consider the safety of all players very important,” Mr Ahmed said at the press briefing in Accra yesterday to address South Africa’s concerns. “With our experience, we can decide whether it was dangerous to play on the turf or not, and already six matches have been played on the turf with no major issues, and the players are enjoying the matches,” he said. For his part, the Executive Chairman of the LOC, Dr Kweku Ofosu-Asare, commended the remaining five participating countries in the hockey tournament for putting up a decent performance so far in hockey. “So far, we are progressing and progressing very well in this tournament (African Games). So far, we have had many medals being handed out and we are looking forward to a successful conclusion of the tournament,” he said.   Source: www.graphic.com.gh | March 20, 2024

Standings and results after 2 days of play | 13th African Games Accra 2023 Countries/Teams Scores Ghana  vs Nigeria(M) (1 – 0) Egypt vs Kenya(M) (3 – 2) Egypt vs Nigeria(M) (5 – 4) Kenya vs Ghana (M) (1 – 3) Ghana vs Kenya(W) (4 – 1) Nigeria vs Ghana(W) (0 -1)      

While the result doesn’t reflect the potential of the Kenyan team, it tells the entire story of what ill preparations can do to the confidence of players. The Kenyan women’s hockey team kicked off the African Games on the wrong footing after falling 4-1 to Ghana at the Theodosia Okoh Stadium on Sunday.  Ordinarily, matches pitting Kenya and Ghana are closely contested but the host capitalized on home advantage to floor the second best team in the continent. Ghana broke the deadlock in the ninth minute through Elizabeth Opoku who has a rich history of scoring in this fixture and against Kenyan clubs in the club championships.  Berko Marvis doubled the advantage for Ghana in the 19th minute, sounding the board from a penalty corner. Vivian Narkuor’a field goal in the 27th minute stretched the advantage to Ghana who had the best possible start in the encounter as by the time the teams went for half time they had a healthy lead. Opoku who doubles up as the skipper sealed her brace and the fourth goal for Ghana in the 33rd minute much to the disappointment of the Kenyan girls who were hoping to work on a possible come back from the third quarter.  Kenya grabbed the consolation goal in the 56th minute through Vivian Onyango who scored from the spot. While the result doesn’t reflect the potential of the Kenyan team, it  tells the entire story of what ill preparations can do to the confidence of players.  The team that arrived a day to the start didn’t play test matches and travelled without important members of the technical bench due to limited funding. Apart from coach Meshack Senge, the only other technical bench member accompanying the team is manager Jane Nyamogo.  Senge’s charges will look to redeem themselves when they play Nigeria on Tuesday. In the absence of South Africa who withdrew, Ghana and Kenya stand a chance of clinching the title. The African champions reportedly cited ill preparations by the host country  and the state of the pitch for their withdrawal. Source: www.michezoafrika.com | March 18, 2024

Ghana got off to a winning start on day one of the men’s hockey competition of the 2023 African Games, with a 1-0 victory over rivals Nigeria, at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium on Sunday. The cagey encounter saw few chances until Damalie Luke broke the deadlock by scoring late to give the Black sticks what proved to be the winner in the dying embers of the game. The hard-fought win hands the host three points and the bragging right over their West African counterpart. “At a point, our game plan changed but we had to keep our cool and prove to them [Nigeria] that we are better than them. Going forward you’ll see better performance from us,” Ghana captain Abbiw Charles told JoySports. Elsewhere, Egypt emerged 3-2 winners over Kenya in a five-goal thriller. Meanwhile in the Women’s category, Ghana demolished Kenya 4-1 in what was an impressive performance. Goals from Berko Mavis, Narkuor Vivian and a brace from captain, Elizabeth Opoku ensured that the Black Stick women started the tournament on a high note. Elizabeth expressed confidence about the team’s chances of winning the competition. “We are taking one match at a time and we need to correct the mistakes we did today and be ready for the next game against Nigeria, whom we have to beat at all cost to make it to the final,” she said. “Our target is the ultimate (first) and I believe we can do it.” Source: www.myjoyonline.com | March 18, 2023