ACN 2022 - MATCH SCHEDULESMATCH SCHEDULE - JANUARY 20, 2022 Nigeria(W) 1 Kenya(W) 2 Zimbabwe(W) 1 Namibia(W) 1 Egypt(M) 3 Uganda(M) 1 Ghana(W) 4 Zambia(W) 0 S. Africa(W) 10 Uganda(W) 0 Nigeria(M) 1 Ghana(M) 1 Match Day 4 - Pictures
ACN 2022 | South Africa first side to seal semi-final berth with victory over Namibia
South Africa took on their Southern African counterparts Namibia on day 2 of the 2022 African Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana. With both sides having won their opening games, a victory for the South Africans would secure a semi-final spot thanks to Zimbabwe’s victory over Uganda. South Africa started the game with good determination and looked more settled on the pitch after struggling in their opening match. Lilian du Plessis put the South Africans ahead as she continues a remarkable goal scoring record at the Continental Championship. The South Africans were made to toil for their second, which eventually came from a penalty corner which was not cleared. Stephanie Botha reacted first and with a low shot fired her first International Goal into the bottom right corner. As coach Inky Zondi was preparing his half time talk, he had to probably change a few sentences though when Tarryn Lombard added the third for South Africa, her second of the tournament and put a bit of gloss onto the scoreboard at the break. South Africa struck the first blow of the second half when Nomnikelo Veto reacted first to a loose ball and assisted Tegan Fourie, who would not miss. 4-0 to the defending champions. If the Namibians were hoping for the barrage to stop, they would be left hopeless as Lombard popped up with a clinical display that gave the Namibians no chance. It was Nomnikelo Veto who made it six of the best when she finished after Robyn Johnson’s shot was saved from close quarters. Although South Africa were still able to win several penalty corners in the last few minutes of the game they were unable to convert any further opportunities and ultimately the match finished 6-0 to the South Africans. As a result of the victory, coupled with Zimbabwe’s win, South Africa are now guaranteed of a place in the semi-finals and their quest to qualify for the FIH Hockey World Cup continues. The team will still have to finish the group stage when they take on Uganda on Thursday at 19:00 South African Time. Phumelela Mbande, captain of the South African team, shared her thoughts on the match. “We were a lot more intentional and ruthless today. We try to improve game on game and our execution was far better. We will continue to learn as we progress through the tournament and look to deliver on our potential!” AFCON 2022 – Day 2 Results Women Pool A South Africa 13-0 Namibia Zimbabwe 5-0 Uganda Pool B Nigeria 2-1 Zambia Kenya 0-5 Ghana (Kenya Forfeit the game) Source: SAHockey.co.za
ACN 2022 – Match Schedule – Day 3
ACN 2022 – Match Schedules – Day 2
ACN 2022 – Match Schedules – DAY 1
ACN 2022 - MATCH SCHEDULES - DAY 1MATCH SCHEDULE - JANUARY 17, 2022 Namibia(W) 3 Uganda(W) 0 Watch live S. Africa(W) 3 Zimbabwe(W) 0 Watch live Ghana(W) 2 Nigeria(W) 2 Watch live Ghana(M) 1 Uganda(M) 1 Watch live Egypt(M) 4 Nigeria(M) 2 Watch live S. Africa(M) 13 Namibia(M) 0 Watch live ACN 2022 - Day 1 Pictures
ACN 2022 – Match Schedules
ACN 2022 - MATCH SCHEDULESMATCH SCHEDULE - JANUARY 17, 2022 Namibia(W) 3 Uganda(W) 0 Watch live S. Africa(W) 3 Zimbabwe(W) 0 Watch live Ghana(W) 2 Nigeria(W) 2 Watch live Ghana(M) 1 Uganda(M) 1 Watch live Egypt(M) 4 Nigeria(M) 2 Watch live S. Africa(M) 13 Namibia(M) 0 Watch live MATCH SCHEDULE - JANUARY 18, 2022 Zimbabwe(W) 5 Uganda(W) 0 Nigeria(W) 2 Zambia(W) 1 Nigeria(M) 10 Uganda(M) 3 Namibia(W) 0 S. Africa(W) 6 Namibia(M) 1 Kenya(M) 4 Ghana(M) 0 Egypt(M) 1 MATCH SCHEDULE - JANUARY 19, 2022 Kenya(W) 3 Zambia(W) 0 Watch live Kenya(M) 0 S. Africa(M) 0 MATCH SCHEDULE - JANUARY 20, 2022 Nigeria(W) 1 Kenya(W) 2 Zimbabwe(W) 1 Namibia(W) 1 Egypt(M) 3 Uganda(M) 1 Ghana(W) 4 Zambia(W) 0 S. Africa(W) 10 Uganda(W) 0 Nigeria(M) 1 Ghana(M) 1 Pool Matches and more coming soon!
Media Release – Argentina tops the polls in FIH Best of 2021 fan vote
14 January 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: The top honours in the FIH Best of 2021 fan vote have both gone the way of Argentina, with the men’s team taking the Best Goal prize and the women the award for Best Match, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) can reveal. The Best Goal of 2021 award, as voted for by the fans of the sport, goes to Nicolas Keenan’s outrageous smash-shot against host nation Japan in the pool phase of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Following an exchange of passes with Juan Lopez, Keenan produced a moment of sporting magic with three touches all within a second of each other, lifting the ball over a defender’s stick at the top of the circle before changing the angle in mid-air and crashing a vicious overhead strike against the backboard of the Japanese goal. It was a strike of pure, instinctive brilliance from Keenan, a truly iconic moment from a wonderful hockey competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The fan’s choice for the Best Match of 2021 also came from Tokyo 2020, with Argentina’s superb 3-0 quarter-final triumph over Germany generating the most votes. Germany’s second place finish behind the Netherlands in Pool A saw them come into the match against Las Leonas, who finished third in Pool B, as marginal favourites. However, the giants of Pan American hockey produced a dominant display against Die Danas, with the deadlock being broken in the 27th minute by Agustina Albertarrio, a goal voted by the fans as the second best of 2021. A Victoria Granatto penalty corner doubled Argentina’s advantage just before half time, with the result being put beyond all doubt by teenager and FIH Rising Star of the Year 2021 nominee Valentina Raposo, who fired home a superb penalty corner strike to send the eventual silver medallists into the semi-finals. The top three in both the best goal and best match categories can be found below. Best Goal of 2021 1st Place: Nicolas Keenan (ARG). Argentina Men v Japan (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 2nd Place: Agustina Albertarrio (ARG). Argentina Women v Germany (Quarter-Final) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 3rd Place: Dayaan Cassiem (RSA). South Africa Men v Belgium (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Best Match of 2021 1st Place: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Women’s Quarter-Final – Germany 0-3 Argentina 2nd Place: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Men’s Pool B – South Africa 4-3 Germany 3rd Place: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Men’s Bronze Medal – Germany 4-5 India To see the complete shortlists for the goal and match of 2021 categories, please click here. For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website. #FavouriteGoal #FavouriteMatch #HockeyInvites
Media Release – Women’s Junior World Cup to be played in South Africa in April, Indoor World Cup cancelled
Lausanne, Switzerland: Meeting today virtually for the first time of the year, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) have decided that the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup, which was initially scheduled to be played in December 2021 but had to be put “on hold” due to the Omicron variant outbreak, will be staged from 2 to 13 April 2022 at the originally planned venue, the North-West University of Potchefstroom in South Africa. “Since the postponement of this event, we’ve been in permanent contact with the South African Hockey Association. Based on the reports about the current evolution of the health situation in the country, the EB has confirmed its decision from its December meeting, namely that the tournament should be postponed – and not cancelled – and that South Africa should have priority for hosting it. We’re aware that the new dates are challenging for some nations – in particular because of Ramadan or the European club calendar – but it was essential for FIH to fully support the wish of the athletes to play. We’re looking forward to a great event with hockey’s female rising stars!”, FIH CEO Thierry Weil commented. Sadly however, FIH and Hockey Belgium have been forced to cancel the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Belgium 2022. This decision has been taken on the basis of the current health situation in Belgium and after extensive consultations with and recommendation from all official and competent authorities in the country. Thierry Weil said: “The FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup is the pinnacle of indoor hockey. Therefore, considering all indoor hockey athletes and fans, it was extremely hard to cancel the 2022 edition planned in just a few weeks. But, of course, we have followed the recommendations of the local authorities. On behalf of FIH, I would like to extend our sincerest thanks to the Belgian organisers, and in particular the Belgian Hockey Association, for their tremendous preparation works and their great dedication.” Finally, the EB took note that the first FIH Hockey Pro League matches of the year, involving the Women’s teams of China and India, will take place on 31 January and 1 February 2022 in Oman, where both teams will be to play the Women’s Asia Cup, which has recently been moved from Thailand to Oman, precisely. For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website.
Media Release – FIH appoints Sportradar as exclusive betting data rights partner through 2030
20 December 2021 Agreement includes provision of a bespoke Competition Management platform for FIH and its member associations Lausanne and St.Gallen, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) and Sportradar (NASDAQ: SRAD), the leading global sports technology company that creates immersive experiences for sports fans, today announced a global partnership which makes Sportradar the exclusive betting and gaming data rights partner of hockey’s world governing body through to the end of the 2029/30 season. As part of the agreement, Sportradar will collect and distribute betting data globally from all FIH competitions for the next nine years. This includes approximately 300 matches each season including the FIH Hockey World Cups, FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers, FIH Indoor Hockey World Cups, FIH Hockey Pro League and FIH Hockey5s World Cups, as well as the Olympic Qualifiers. Sportradar will also provide FIH with a bespoke Competition Management platform to manage their tournaments and data more effectively. Intuitive and easy-to-use, the platform is tailor-made to fit FIH’s rules and regulations and will help manage competitions, match results, player statistics, rankings and much more. The Competition Management platform will also be made available to all FIH member associations including continental and national associations. Through a dedicated and focused effort to collect a deeper level of data, FIH will be able to harness the data to provide more insights to engage hockey fans around the world. As part of the agreement, Sportradar will also provide Integrity Services. Sportradar’s Universal Fraud Detection Service (UFDS), a proven bet monitoring system, will help maintain the integrity of FIH competitions and protect them from match-fixing and other risks. Education and prevention workshops will also be provided to officials. Ed Blonk, Chief Commercial Officer and Regional CEO APAC, Sportradar said: “Sportradar’s experience and technological know-how will allow us to create bespoke solutions for FIH that will help to elevate the profile of hockey and enable the continued growth of the game. Combined with the expertise in leveraging the power of sports data, we look forward to creating enhanced levels of engagement with hockey fans together with FIH.” FIH CEO Thierry Weil added: “One of our key initiatives is to develop exciting and entertaining events that are meaningful for athletes as well as fan-focused to attract new fans and boost participation. With Sportradar’s proven track record supporting some of the world’s biggest sports federations, we are confident that this partnership will largely contribute to growing hockey globally through bespoke data. Furthermore, we’re looking forward to benefitting from Sportradar’s expertise in providing intelligence solutions to maintain sport’s integrity.” For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website. About Sportradar Sportradar is the leading global sports technology company creating immersive experiences for sports fans and bettors. Established in 2001, the company is well positioned at the intersection of the sports, media and betting industries, providing sports federations, news media, consumer platforms and sports-betting operators with a range of solutions to help grow their business. Sportradar employs more than 2,300 full time employees across 19 countries around the world. It is our commitment to excellent service, quality and reliability that makes us the trusted partner of more than 1,600 customers in over 120 countries and an official partner of the NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, UEFA, FIFA, ICC, and ITF. We cover more than 750,000 events annually across 83 sports. With deep industry relationships, Sportradar is not just redefining the sports fan experience; it also safeguards the sports themselves through its Integrity Services division and advocacy for an integrity-driven environment for all involved. www.sportradar.com Source: Sportradar Group AG
