Mr. Theo Ykema, FIH Member of Honour and Coordinator of the FIH Coaching Assistance Programme paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Minister of Education, Sports and Science Honourable O. B. Amoah on Wednesday afternoon. The visit accorded the FIH Member of Honour the opportunity to discuss the renaissance of Ghana Hockey and to show the FIH’s appreciation to the Ministry and the Government of Ghana for its continued support to the development of the sport.

In his remarks to the Honourable Minister, the FIH Member of Honour commended the Ministry, the National Sports Council (NSC) and the leadership of the Ghana Hockey Association and expressed his personal satisfaction and that of the FIH on how Ghana hockey has progressed in the past few years. He informed the Minister that at the Global level, the organization of Ghana Hockey is rated high and ahead of most countries in hockey development. He indicated that in view of this trend, the GHA enjoys a lot of support from the FIH through Grant programmes to equip the schools and others such as the on-going Coaching Assistance Programme. He expressed the World Body’s desire to support Ghana to achieve the Olympic standard and compete against the world’s elite nations at the Beijing Olympic Games. He exchanged ideas on Ghana’s preparations for the African Olympic Qualifier to be held in Nairobi in July 2007 and emphasised the arrangements being put in place in collaboration with his office for the teams to undertake a training programme abroad ahead of the July Qualifier. He indicated that the time has come for Ghana to build at least one water-based turf which he was confident would lead to the hosting of more high profile international competitions. In his final remarks, he indicated that he was confident that with the partnership and support of Government, Ghana hockey would conquer Africa again and take its rightful place on the summit of African hockey.

In response, the Honourable Deputy Minister expressed the gratitude of the Ministry and the Government to the FIH for their sustained interest and support to Ghana Hockey. He was particularly delighted at the complementary role the world body continues to play in the development of the sport in Ghana. He informed the FIH member that the Ministry was aware of the preparation plans of the Ghana teams and was committed to harnessing resources to ensure that the teams compete in Kenya.

He congratulated the leadership of the GHA for reviving hockey and encouraged them to market the sport and attract influential people to associate with it to drive the marketing agenda. He encouraged the GHA to establish contact with the Diplomatic Missions of leading hockey countries in Ghana.

The FIH Member of Honour presented the Honourable Deputy Minister with an FIH official necktie and invited him to join the rest of the hockey family on Thursday afternoon when Ghana and Nigeria play the first of their 2-match test series.