World Cup Hockey qualifiers set for Namibia

The Namibian Hockey Union (NHU) will host the Africa Under- 21 Junior Hockey Word Cup Qualifiers from 18 – 27 March in Windhoek.
The continental showpiece will see the Namibian junior men and ladies square off with South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Nigeria and Tanzania, while Egypt has confirmed that they will only be sending a men’s team to the tournament.
Marc Nel, President of the NHU, said in a press release, “We can’t wait for the tournament to get started. Everything is in place and we are looking forward to getting started and welcoming all the teams to Namibia”.
Nel further confirmed that all games will be played on the astro turfs of both the Windhoek High School (WHS) as well as the Windhoek Gymnasium in the capital. Both venues are adequately prepared, he said.
Meanwhile, the winner and the runner-up in the men’s contest will qualify directly for the World Cup in India in November while the two best women’s teams travel to Chile in December to compete with the U21 elite hockey playing countries.
Despite the Namibians hosting the event, it is envisaged that the South Africans and Egyptian Men, going into the tournament as defending champions, will fight it out for the ticket to World Cup.
In the women’s division, however, the hosts could make one of the qualifying places, albeit the South Africans are the big favourites to take the win as the defending champions. “We are on the same level and can compete for the top spot”, Nel added.