The Road to the Paris Olympics becomes clearer for African Hockey nations as the qualifier takes place at Pretoria University from Sunday 29 October 2023 to Sunday 5 November 2023 (Finals day). Eight African Men’s teams and seven African Women’s teams will battle it out with the winner securing the spot as Africa’s representative at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
South Africa are the undoubted favorites having won the tournament on all four occasions since the qualifier was removed from the All-African Games in 2003. They will face a tough challenge from Egypt, who have contested every final...
The South African Hockey Men would have felt inspired by the performances of their countrymen the Springboks, Proteas, and Brad Binder ahead of the tournament opener against Zimbabwe at the African Hockey Road to Paris 2024 Qualifier.
And the Hockey men showed the same South African spirit from the start taking only 8 minutes to score through influential skipper Dayaan Cassiem. Zimbabwe showed good tenacity to hold the South Africans at bay, but Matthew Guise-Brown playing his first game since the Commonwealth Games finally broke the resistance with a fine penalty corner strike.
That goal...
The South African Hockey Women secured their place in the semi-final of the African Hockey Road to Paris 2024 Qualifier on a cold evening at Tuks Sport in Pretoria. Having beaten Zimbabwe 10-0 on the opening night the South Africans knew anything other than defeat would secure a place in the final four.
Nigeria were making their debut in the tournament having had a bye on the opening day. And they had Martha Uko to thank for keeping them in the competition in the early exchanges making fine saves from several shots, the standout being from a Jean-Leigh du Toit penalty corner that looked...
Seventh Heaven sees South Africa Men Secure Semi-Final Space
In front of a wonderful crowd at the University of Pretoria Sport grounds, the South African Hockey Men put on a fine display to confirm their participation in the final of the African Hockey Road to Paris.
The South Africans already knew the opponent for the potential final would be the old rivals Egypt who had earlier beaten Uganda 9-1. The South Africans were keen to give a Friday night crowd a party atmosphere and Ryan Julius started the party with a rebound after Bili Ntuli shot was saved. Benjamin Acquah was...
South Africa qualify for Paris Olympics after tense final
Egypt were victorious on the two previous meetings between the two countries at the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia and fancied themselves to cause an upset in front of a full house in Pretoria. The two teams, who have contested every African final this millennium are both ranked in the top 20 in the FIH World Rankings and were determined to seal a spot at the Olympic Games.
Before the game started the South Africans recognised the milestone achievements of both Sam Mvimbi (50 caps) and Dan Bell (100 caps). They celebrated those...
