Tanzania’s ladies hockey side, ‘Twende’, left for Bulawayo, Zimbabwe yesterday ready for the African Hockey Club Championship. The week-long tournament that brings together teams from Tanzania, Malawi, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and hosts Zimbabwe is scheduled for November 22-30.
Tanzania Hockey Association (THA) secretary Kaushik Doshi told the ‘Daily New’ from Tanga yesterday that Twende left by bus in good spirit and are expected to arrive in Bulawayo today. He said the event involves about 20 top African men and women’s teams that will be battling it out for top honours.
Tanzania confirmed to field on only a ladies team during the 44th International Hockey Federation (FIH) Ordinary Congress in Marrakesh, Morocco, early this month.
“On the sad note, no Tanzanian men’s team is taking part in the tournament due to lack of funding,” Doshi said. Twende are scheduled to play their opening game on November 22 against Plateau Queens of Nigeria.
The Tanzanian ladies meet Strathmore of Kenya a day later, before taking on Ghana’s Gra, Shams of Egypt and Zimbabwe’s Bac on November 24, 25 and 26 in their group respectively. Eleven teams placed in two groups are taking part in the ladies category.
The other group has Malawi’s Genetrix, Ghana Police, Nigeria’s Heartlands Flickers, Egypt’s Sharkia, and Kenya’s Orange and Strathmore.
All the matches will be played at Khumalo Stadium in Bulawayo which boasts of excellent state-of-the-art infrastructure equipped with modern facilities, plus one of the top turf pitches.
“This is a major boost to our ladies as they’ll gain the much needed international exposure and international by playing against top players from different countries.
Twende head coach, Italian Valentina Quaranta, was quoted as saying that all the players are in good form and looking forward to faring well in the championship.
Doshi reiterated that it is high time the relevant authorities and stakeholders provide THA with modern hockey facilities to boost the sport and turn Tanzanian teams into serious competitors rather than mere participants in international competitions.
“At the moment it’s very difficult to compete with other countries as all of them have excellent hockey infrastructure, including modern turf pitches,” he said.
“Unfortunately, Tanzania doesn’t have them and we can only host continental tournaments if these facilities are available,” he added. The last edition winners were Sharkia of Egypt in the men’s category, while Orange of Kenya triumphed in the ladies series.
By MBONILE BURTON, Tanzania Daily News