Hockey loses out on Astroturf funding

NAMIBIA lost out on a N$620 000 donation from the International Hockey Federation (IHF) by failing to make the necessary preparations for installing the country’s first Astroturf surface.

The IHF identified countries last year to which to donate US$100 000 (N$620 000) each for installing Astroturf, which has become a compulsory playing surface worldwide. The President of the Namibia Hockey Federation (NHF), Jesse Schickerling, told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the money was instead given to Uruguay, after Namibia failed to prepare a hockey field suitable for receiving the synthetic surface.He said the condition for the IHF donation was that each country should make the necessary preparations before the end of last year.Namibia could not meet the deadline because the hockey administrators were struggling to get funding for the preparatory work.A request for an extension of the deadline was dismissed.Schickerling said he lobbied the support of the local authorities and the Government to assist with building a suitable hockey field, but all his pleas were fruitless although hockey is one of the five biggest sports in the country and classified as an ‘A code’.He said the Government has invested millions in the construction of stadiums in the country, especially for football, netball and rugby, but hockey has to be satisfied with a grass field, which is not recognised as a suitable playing surface by the IHF anymore.”The City Council constructed a football stadium worth N$65 million last year, and I don’t know why the same commitment cannot be shown to hockey by the local authorities or even the Government for that matter,” he said.Schickerling, who was voted the best sport administrator at the annual National Sports Awards last year, said hockey was one of the most progressive codes in the country and is constantly among the medal contenders, especially during international competitions.An Astroturf hockey stadium will cost at least N$13 million.He said the NHF needed the support of Government, local authorities and the private sector to realise the construction of the field, because all other hockey-playing nations in Africa have such a facility.South Africa alone has 80 Astroturf fields, while England has about 160.Namibian players have generally been hampered by the lack of such a facility in the country and their performances outside the country produce mixed results because they are not used to playing on an artificial surface.Schickerling said Windhoek Mayor Mathew Shikongo was among the few people who have so far expressed interest, while First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba, who is the patron of the hockey federation, is also keen to help.Namibia has the fourth oldest hockey federation in Africa after Egypt, South Africa and Zimbabwe and still lacks an Astroturf facility, which was first introduced 26 years ago.The Namibian Sport could not obtain comment from the Directorate of Sport in the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture.The President of the Namibia Hockey Federation (NHF), Jesse Schickerling, told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the money was instead given to Uruguay, after Namibia failed to prepare a hockey field suitable for receiving the synthetic surface.He said the condition for the IHF donation was that each country should make the necessary preparations before the end of last year.Namibia could not meet the deadline because the hockey administrators were struggling to get funding for the preparatory work.A request for an extension of the deadline was dismissed.Schickerling said he lobbied the support of the local authorities and the Government to assist with building a suitable hockey field, but all his pleas were fruitless although hockey is one of the five biggest sports in the country and classified as an ‘A code’.He said the Government has invested millions in the construction of stadiums in the country, especially for football, netball and rugby, but hockey has to be satisfied with a grass field, which is not recognised as a suitable playing surface by the IHF anymore.”The City Council constructed a football stadium worth N$65 million last year, and I don’t know why the same commitment cannot be shown to hockey by the local authorities or even the Government for that matter,” he said.Schickerling, who was voted the best sport administrator at the annual National Sports Awards last year, said hockey was one of the most progressive codes in the country and is constantly among the medal contenders, especially during international competitions.An Astroturf hockey stadium will cost at least N$13 million.He said the NHF needed the support of Government, local authorities and the private sector to realise the construction of the field, because all other hockey-playing nations in Africa have such a facility.South Africa alone has 80 Astroturf fields, while England has about 160.Namibian players have generally been hampered by the lack of such a facility in the country and their performances outside the country produce mixed results because they are not used to playing on an artificial surface.Schickerling said Windhoek Mayor Mathew Shikongo was among the few people who have so far expressed interest, while First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba, who is the patron of the hockey federation, is also keen to help.Namibia has the fourth oldest hockey federation in Africa after Egypt, South Africa and Zimbabwe and still lacks an Astroturf facility, which was first introduced 26 years ago.The Namibian Sport could not obtain comment from the Directorate of Sport in the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture.