The Ghana Hockey Association (GHA) has invited 36 male players to begin a non-residential camping in preparation for a tournament in South Africa designed to select a team from Africa to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The invited players include four goalkeepers, 11 defenders, 10 midfielders and 11 strikers. The goalkeepers are Jeffery Karikari, Eugene Acheampong, Thyce Offei and Benjamin Acquah.

Defenders comprise Salya Nsalbini, Charles Abbiw, Alfred Ntiamoah, Stephen Ofosu Asamoah, Mohammed Osumanu, Samuel Akpene, Ernest Obeng Opoku, Luke Damalle, Emmanuel Quansah, Kwaku Peprah and Francis Foli.

The midfielders are Samuel Afari, George Asiedu, Elikem Akaba, Emmanuel Elorm Akaba, Emmanuel Ankomah, Matthew Damale, Samuel Apronti, Akwasi Assah-Anim, Christopher Dogbe and Nicholas Nyarko.

The strikers are Jonny Botsio, Isaac Coffie, Emmanuel Lamptey, Richard Adjei, Michael Akuamoah Boateng, Maxwell Osei, Michael Kofi Baiden, Prince Asirifie, Benjamin Coffie, Samuel Mensah and Francis Tettey.

Secretary-General of the GHA, Mr Nashiru Yakubu, who briefed the Graphic Sports Online about the tournament, said the invited players would be pruned down to 22 ahead of the South Africa tournament in August.

According to Mr Yakubu, both the male and female national hockey teams would participate in the South Africa tournament.

He said apart from Ghana, other countries that had accepted to compete for the sole ticket for Africa were host country South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Zambia.

He said the tournament, which would be held in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, would be played between August 12 and 18.