April 13, 2018 With its national women’s team having just finished competing in their first major international competition and a national hockey event taking place in its capital city, Ghana’s hockey development is progressing apace at both ends of the development spectrum. Ghana women have just concluded their first foray into the Commonwealth Games, while Accra is preparing to host the West Africa Hockey5s tournament. This marked progress represents key milestones for the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Targeted Assistance Programme (TAP) that has transformed hockey in the West Africa country. The TAP West Africa project began in 2014 as part of England Hockey’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. It is run in conjunction with the African Hockey Federation, the Ghana Hockey Association and is supported by FIH. UK Sport has also been a key funding partner in the project. Four years on and England are just a few months away from hosting the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 and Ghana is celebrating reaching a number of landmark points in its own hockey development. “People who have worked on the project have left with their own incredible life experiences and memories and there is a distinct sense that it had changed everyone’s lives for the better.”  Dame Katherine Grainger, Chair of UK Sport FIH Hockey Academy and Education Manager Andre Oliveira says there are three areas in which the Targeted Assistance Programme has delivered outstanding results. The first of these is the development of a workforce which can deliver hockey events, namely, coaches, umpires, umpire managers and educators. Then there is the development of the national team, which has been so emphatically demonstrated by the success of Ghana women in qualifying for the Commonwealth Games. Ghana are now ranked 30th in the world and will be the lowest ranked team at the tournament, but their inclusion and their rise up the rankings signals a spreading of hockey across Africa. The third area of improvement is the hockey development and growth in the countries that surround Ghana. In Togo, the number of registered players has reached 700 (from 200) and Burkina Faso is about to enter its first international competition – the West Africa Hockey5s tournament in Ghana’s capital city Accra. Also at the inaugural Hockey5s tournament were Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. Dame Katherine Grainger is Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian, with five Olympic medals in addition to six world championship titles. She is now Chair of UK Sport and was on hand to watch the hockey action at the West Africa Hockey5s. Speaking about this Programme and the event, she said: “I had heard great things about the TAP project but it wasn’t until being privileged enough to have a visit to Ghana myself that I realised its enormous positive impact. We often talk about how sport can transform lives and in Ghana I saw a wonderful tangible example of that. Once again great partnerships in sport created something special and ground-breaking. “Between UK Sport, England Hockey, the FIH, the African Hockey Federation, and the Ghana Hockey Association, five different African Nations were able to come together for the first time and compete in a hockey tournament. For two of those nations the athletes had never had the opportunity to compete internationally before.” She continued: “The hockey was played with a ferocious level of passion and enthusiasm and the singing and dancing displayed by the teams at the end of the tournament showed how much players, officials and spectators were celebrating the experience.” Grainger pointed out that Ghana’s aim at the start of the project was to qualify for a world level tournament by 2022. In fact, in qualifying for the Commonwealth Games, this target was met four years early. “In addition to the tournament itself, throughout the four year project further participation and performance projects had been put in place for coaches, players and umpires with a plan that hockey can continue to grow and develop in Ghana and across West Africa. “ added Grainger, “People who have worked on the project have left with their own incredible life experiences and memories and there is a distinct sense that it had changed everyone’s lives for the better.” FIH’s Targeted Assistance Programme is a key component of the 10-year Hockey Revolution strategy. By increasing the degree of professionalism amongst the organisations in West Africa it is hoped that this Programme will contribute to the strategy’s overall aim of making hockey a global game that inspires the next generation. For more information about hockey in Ghana, click here. #GlobalProjects

Ghana’s Female Hockey team first appearance at the commonwealth games has been reckoned with both local and international local media houses praising the team. The team beat Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya but lost to South Africa to pick silver in the 2017 African Cup of Nation held in Ismalia, Egypt. New Zealand started their Gold Coast campaign beating Scotland 6 goals to 1. The energy of Madi Doar, Kelsey Smith, Sam Charlton and Shiloh Glyon stumped the camp of Ghana ending the first half 4-0 in New Zealand’s favour after Adampa Janet and Amoako Cecilia got booked. Ghana became vulnerable in the third period after Michelsen Stacey 33′, Merry Olivia 35′ and Harrison Samantha 43′ drove pass the unstable defense to increase the deficit to 7. Azumah Bridget made remarkable saves but wasn’t enough to stop Ghana from conceding more goals. New Zealand Black Sticks stretched the tally in the final period with 5 goals to end the game 12 nil in their favour. 18-year-old Doar impressed the crowd with a hat-trick whiles McLaren Anita bagged her 100th international goal for NZ Blacksticks. Ghana plays host nation, Australia, in their second game tomorrow at 12:30 GMT+10 (2:30 AM).

Wales held hockey giants Pakistan to a draw whilst South Africa were stunned 4-2 by Scotland in the opening day of the men’s hockey competition at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. Following the women’s matches earlier in the day, thousands of fans continued to turn out to support the men’s teams at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre. Wales, ranked 24th in the FIH Hero World Rankings, have every right to be proud of their draw against 13th ranked Pakistan. Taking inspiration from their women’s win against India earlier in the day, Wales were tough in their tackles and composed in possession – penetrating their opponents circle more often than Pakistan entered theirs throughout the match. And it was Wales who took the lead in open play, after 33 minutes, through Rupert Shipperley. That did not last long however as, six minutes later, Pakistan levelled the match through an Ali Mubashar penalty corner. After the two goals, both teams cancelled each other out across the field, with no other shots at goal or penalty corners conceded for the remainder of the game. Despite riding their luck on occasion, Wales did more than enough to justify their share of the spoils and record what some believe to be one of their best men’s results in their history. Pakistan meanwhile will rue dropped points against a team they would have hoped to beat. The last match of the day saw African champions South Africa come up against a Scottish side buzzing with energy and passion. The Blue Sticks raced into a 3-0 lead by the end of the first quarter – all goals through open play. The highlight was the second goal when a neat ball was slipped through two South African defenders to find Kenneth Bain who fired a beautiful back stick strike high into the roof of the net. Alan Forsyth followed that up in the 13th minute as he smashed home a goal at the back post after South Africa failed to clear the danger. Scotland’s energy continued into the second quarter, their confidence allowing them to spread the ball around the field – a fact reflected by statistics showing they had 89% of possession in the match. It was however South Africa who got on the scoresheet next as Gareth Heyns scored from a penalty corner. Their captain, Tim Drummond, then brought the score back to 3-2 through a fantastic diving shot after a pass was edged through the entire Scottish defence. Although their fans may have feared a typical Scottish collapse, the Blue Sticks held on and Kenneth Bain squeezed in his second goal of the night to guarantee a hugely important win both in terms of points and for confidence. Results Pool A: South Africa 2, Scotland 4. Pool B: Pakistan 1, Wales 1. #GC2018Hockey fih.ch

March 26, 2018 Ghana and Nigeria recorded massive wins on Match Day 3 to book a place in the finals of their respective finals. Nigeria’s boys team beat Burkina Faso to set up an epic finals against host Ghana. Ghana’s girls team beat Togo to also book their place in the final. The girls started match day 3 with Ghana facing Togo. The girls from Togo set out to revenge the heavy defeat they suffered at the hands of their neighbours on match day one. The game started with Ghana dominating as usual but the girls from Togo also played well. The Ghanaian girls were frustrated in the early minutes as they failed to score Togo. Good team play from Togo attracted applauds from spectators and dignitaries present. Their moment of doom came in the 5th minute when Ghana’s Gifty Addae put the host in front with a cheeky lob over Tchagbele Aidatou in post for Togo. The floodgates were then opened as the host scored 7 goals in succession. Togo managed to pull one back but that was not enough as they succumbed to a 8-1 defeat. The win puts Ghana top of the group an a place in the final. With just two teams available for the girls division means Togo meets Ghana again in “The third world war”. Nigeria also booked their place in the boys final with a win over Burkina Faso. The green lads once again produced another great performance. Four goals in the first session, three in the second and two in the final session was enough to send them to the grand final. Burkina Faso unfortunately had to end the game with two key players injured. Source: http://isports360.com/

March 25, 2018 Match day two of the ongoing West Africa Hockey 5s ended with massive wins for Ghana and Nigeria who trashed Ivory coast and Togo. Ghana played host to their counterparts from Ivory Coast in the first match of the day. Both teams had to play another game because a third opponent was unavailable. The Ghanaian side put up another splendid performance to book a place in the finals. The host dictated the pace of the game as they controlled every department. The Ivorians showed brilliant team play; a performance many saw as an improvement of their game yesterday. However, the expected happened as Ghana won the game beating ivory coast by 13-0. The final game of the day was between Nigeria and Togo. The boys in green were playing their first game of the tournament after a late arrival. Togo who brushed aside Burkina Faso by 11-2 in their first game were in high spirit approaching this game. Mustapha Bala put Nigeria in-front as early as the 5th minute. Daniel Attah scored five goals (8th, 13th, 20th, 22nd and 26th min) with Abdul Aziz Yusif (14th min), Baccas Benjamin (24th min) and Peter John (24th min) getting a goal each for Nigeria. Agbessi Kokou pulled one back for Togo in the 13th minute but time ran out as Nigeria won 9-1. Source: http://isports360.com

March 25, 2018 The first edition of the West Africa hockey 5s commenced at the Theodosia Okoh hockey stadium, yesterday, with wins for host nation Ghana. The tournament seeks to promote youth hockey in West Africa as well as a preparatory grounds for the youth Olympic qualifier in Algeria later this year. Five countries represented with 5 male teams and 3 female teams. The opening game of the tournament yesterday saw Ghana’s female team engage their counterparts from Togo. The Togolese made its first appearance in any hockey tournament started on a more determined note. Their hopes were however, cut short in the 3rd minute when Okine Rafiatu put Ghana in front. the 1st session ended with Ghana 4-0 up. The Togolese came up strong in the second and final session but all efforts proved futile as they were beaten 11-0. Speaking after the game, Togo Female’s coach Kesse Komlan said, “we played with an opponent who has been playing hockey for decades, and we are so proud of how we performed. We are putting things in place and hopefully no team will be able to match us years to come”. In the boys division, Togo got the best of Burkina Faso beating them by 11-2. it was a game between two debutants as both teams made their way into the hockey fraternity for the first time. Togo showed dominance from the start of the game controlling every part of the turf. Their dominance was turned into goals as they scored six at the end of the second session to put the game beyond Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso gained experience from the first two session and played extremely well in the final session. They manged to score two goals with Togo bagging in five more goals. Host nation Ghana engaged counterparts Ivorian in the final game of the day. The boys from Ghana were enthused and eager to do better than their girls. The match started with the host dictating pace with three goals in the first three minutes. Ghana were 7-0 up after the first session. A resilient Ivorian side pulled one back in the second session but Ghana grabbed two more goals to increase their tally before the end of the second session. The Ghanaian side rounded up their scintillating win with six more goals in the final session ending the game 15-1 in favor of Ghana.   Source: http://isports360.com

February 16, 2018 Algeria is the latest member of the African Hockey Federation to drive forwards with its hockey development after many years of little hockey activity in the country. One of the motivations for building a hockey culture in Algeria is the reinstatement of hockey back into the African Youth Games (AYG). Whilst a Youth Olympic Games (YOG) qualifying event has been played in the continent before, qualifying Namibia for the YOG in Nanjing in 2014 where they finished a credible fourth, it is the first time a hockey YOG qualifier will be incorporated into the AYG. This year’s event will be taking place in Algeria’s capital, Algiers, from 18-28 July and the Algerian Hockey Federation are pulling out all the stops to make sure their teams will be competitive at the event. “This third edition of the African Youth Games is expected to attract many National Associations to participate as well as create a momentum for the young generation in Africa to get more engaged with hockey as a sport.” Ahmed Azmy, African Hockey Federation CEO More than 400 young players from Algiers schools and clubs are part of a hockey development programme funded partly by the African Hockey Federation (AfHF). Two coaches from Egypt, Hossam Fouda and Ashraf Shafik, are leading the programme. The coaches bring a lot of international experience with them. They both participated in the Barcelona Olympics of 1992 as part of the Egyptian national team. Hossam became the Head Coach of the Egyptian National team in 2014 and Ashraf became Assistant Coach for the Egyptian Under-21 National team in 2016. Over the next six months, the 400 youngsters will be put through their paces by the two coaches and eventually a boy’s and a girl’s team will be selected to represent Algeria at the AYG. Training is held in Algiers on a recently laid multi-sport artificial turf, which was originally made for soccer. The Algerian Minister of Sport has dedicated this turf to hockey for the training period. The Ministry of Sport is planning to lay down a full size hockey turf to be ready for the AYG in time. If those plans do not materialise, they will prepare the multi-sport training turf for the AYG Hockey 5s tournament. Hockey activity will not cease once the Games have taken place. CEO for the African Hockey Federation, Ahmed Azmy, said: “After the first six months and following the AYG, a second phase of the programme will take another six-month period. The two coaches will be sent to four other different Algerian states to train the schools’ physical education teachers who will in turn train the school students, both boys and girls, to spread hockey all over Algeria.” Azmy is delighted that hockey is receiving such a boost in Algeria. He says: “Introducing hockey in Algeria, originally a non-hockey country, is very important because Algeria is organising the Youth Africa Games 2018, qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games 2018. “For the AfHF, this is an important step since hockey was left out of the multi-sport events since 2003 and this year it is coming back after 15 years of absence. Multi-sport events are very important because the National Olympic Committees are liable for funding the participating teams in all sports, which for hockey will be an incentive for National Associations to participate in such events. “This third edition of the African Youth Games is expected to attract many National Associations to participate as well as create a momentum for the young generation in Africa to get more engaged with hockey as a sport. The AfHF intends to follow-up the progress of this programme by visiting Algeria on regular basis during the coming period.” This development activity is yet another example of Continental Federation’s engaging with the International Hockey Federation’s Hockey Revolution strategy. With an aim of making hockey a global game that inspires future generations, Algeria are an example to other nations looking to reinvigorate hockey by providing access to the sport for young people. For more information about hockey in Africa, click here. Source: FIH