Kumasi, March 28, GNA - The Ashanti Regional Hockey Coach, Osbert Bentum has appealed to the corporate bodies and other stakeholders to support the National Sports Council to fence and develop the regional hockey pitch at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.

Coach Bentum said the pitch which has over the years' served as the only one that caters for the northern sector of the country has now been turned into a football park by the youth of the area. The Regional hockey coach who made the appeal through the GNA Sports in Kumasi at the weekend, noted that the neglect of the pitch was hampering the development of the game in the Region and its surrounding areas. "The only solution to protect it is to fence it and allow for the use of hockey play", the coach added.

Coach Bentum said the condition of the pitch incurs huge expenditure by some hockey enthusiasts to level and roll the pitch for competitions. He said another area of concern is how to get the youth from using the field for only football instead of its original use and added that it is has now become a burden because no amount of threats or warnings has been able to compel them from using the pitch for other purposes. 28 March 10