The Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif has revealed that the hockey event in the 2023 African Games will begin on March 16, 2024.
Hockey was expected to start on March 15, however, the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium, is not yet ready to host the competition.
Reports surfaced on social media on the state of the pitch, raising alarm bells. However, Ussif is certain that the event will begin without any hitches, further explaining why there was a delay.
“We had a back-and-forth with the hockey federation. The federation decided to use a different turf as compared to the turf the contractor wanted to use. That turf[from the federation] can only be gotten from Germany so we needed to procure the turf for them. Currently, the turf and facilities are in Ghana and the contractor is working on it,” Ussif revealed during his press briefing to the media on Monday.
“The event was not supposed to start until the 15th. It has been rescheduled to the 16th. I am in touch with the African hockey president, Ghana’s hockey president and the contractor. Be rest assured that the facility will be in shape for the hockey event to happen,” he added.
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Ghana has currently won five medals at the African Games and is placed 10th on the medal table.