Government scolds SA hockey bosses over 'silent' withdrawal of men's team

The government has weighed in on the South African Hockey Association’s (Saha) decision to withdraw the national men’s team from the Pro League, saying it was taken aback by the announcement on Tuesday. 

The federation extracted the team, saying the R10m “minimum financial requirement” by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to enter the nine-team tournament exceeded its annual revenue.

Players, some of whom met sport minister Nathi Mthethwa on the final day of the Indoor Hockey World Cup in Pretoria at the weekend, were upset that they were informed only after Saha had taken the decision. 

“The department of sports, art and culture is pleased with the successful hosting of the ... Indoor Hockey World Cup, where both the men’s and women’s teams performed well.

“For that reason, we were taken aback by the news of Saha’s decision not to take up the FIH’s invitation for them to occupy a slot in next season’s FIH Pro League,” the department said in a statement on Wednesday night.

“While it is understood that funding towards international competition is always in short supply, we would have preferred to be forewarned about these developments. Nevertheless, we sill still engage with Saha to be enlightened about their decision.”

Saha said in a statement earlier on Wednesday that since the beginning of 2022 it had secured funding for the men’s Pro League (the 2021/22 season), the Aslan Shah Cup in Malaysia, the Men’s and Women’s Nations Cups as well as both men’s and women’s World Cups.

“We won the men’s Nations Cup at the beginning of December and the due date for submission to the FIH was on January 16, 2023. With the short timelines, our ability to communicate effectively was compromised.”

The South African men gained entry into the 2021/22 Pro League after some withdrawals because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but their participation there is believed to have contributed to their strong showing at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.

It is understood that players were informed of the decision of Saha’s decision to withdraw only on Monday night. “Just cannot believe the decision was made without input of any coaches or players,” one player wrote on Twitter.

“Discussions will be held with the team as we continue working to give them the best opportunity to maintain their positive trend,” said Saha.

“We hope that results of our teams as well as the results at the recent indoor world cup will open the eyes of corporate South Africa to the opportunity of supporting the efforts of our national teams ...

“We have eight national teams to take care of with limited funding, hence players having to pay for certain events and preparation for events.”

The South African women and men achieved their best results in Pretoria at the weekend, finishing fourth and sixth overall. Players from both teams said the key to improved performance was playing more matches against top sides. 

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