Ash hockey leagues to push off despite Ebola scare
Despite the Ebola scare which has caused the delay of the re-opening dates of the country’s universities, the Ashanti Regional Hockey Association said it would still go ahead to restart the four-round league by the end of the month.
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The Ashanti regional league has at least three educational institutions, including league leaders, KNUST, but the continual delay in their reopening is likely to disrupt the year’s calendar.
The president of the association, Yaw Boafo, and his team of technical directors are putting in place a temporary measure to find a way of footing the bills of the players to honour the matches until schools fully re-open.
Unlike the Greater Accra league, the Ashanti region competition lacks sponsorship and the president laments the stress he and his team would have to go through to keep the interest of the game afloat, especially among the youth in the Ashanti region.
The league is unique because it is built around the educational calendar, so each time the schools are on vacation, the league goes on break.
Subsequently, instead of the two-round league which pertains in other regions, the Ashanti regional competition has been structured into four rounds in conformity with the educational calendar.
Meanwhile, Mr Boafo, who also doubles as the president of the Ashanti Regional Bar Association, is in consultation with key stakeholders to solicit support to facilitate the growth of the sport.
Currently, the game is funded from individual pockets and connoisseurs say it is likely to truncate the youth development programmes and thereby affect the competence of the national youth teams.
