MTC demands success from NHU

MTC demands success from NHU• Union promises competitiveness The Namibia Hockey Union announced that its indoor teams are ranked among the best in the world during a visit to their sponsor, MTC. JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA

WINDHOEK



MTC has encouraged Namibian hockey teams to continue working for positive results in all competitions.

Last year, the Namibia Hockey Union (NHU) was one of the recipients of MTC's multimillion-dollar sports sponsorship.

It was announced that MTC will sponsor the union with N$3 million a year for three years, mainly set to focus on national teams.

MTC's senior spokesperson John Ekongo said the company expects fireworks at competitions from their beneficiaries.

“We have been very specific as far as the contract we signed. It is no longer about participating, but participation with an effort and ­objective.

“I am happy to announce that the objective is that once they go out there, they will make sure that they qualify for international tournaments.

“Hopefully on their radar is the world indoor and the artificial turf world cup,” Ekongo said.

Ekongo reiterated that N$3 million is a lot of money and that MTC is not just giving it away.

They hope the money can develop the sport code to the extent that players are able to get professional contracts locally and abroad.

“We need to see the development of the sport at all levels,” Ekongo said.

MTC also hopes to see inclusivity given that sport is a unifying sector and, therefore, anyone from anywhere must be allowed to play if they are interested in it.



NHU grateful

The NHU thanked MTC for the sponsorship.

President Marc Nel said the union would do its best to make sure that the money is put to good use.

“We would like to thank MTC for entrusting themselves with the Namibia Hockey Union, especially with our men's and women's national teams.

“I have been yearning for this since 2016 when I started talking to Tim Ekandjo, so I am grateful,” Nel said.



Top participation on cards

As things stand, the men's and women's indoor hockey teams are set to compete at the Indoor Africa Cup to be held in Durban, South Africa, from 15 to 18 April.

The women's team, the current indoor African champions, has its sights set on success, while the men's team, which lost in the final of the indoor Africa championship, will be eager to impress again.

“We believe that our teams are well prepared and still preparing and hopefully they will come back having qualified to the world cup,” Nel said. The indoor world cup will be staged in Japan in the first week of February 2022.

The men's indoor hockey national team is planning to play a test series against South Africa in May.

“It will hopefully take place and they are going to play two tests as part of training camp to prepare for the Africa Cup of Nations, which will take place in 2022 in Ghana.”



Top ranks

Nel revealed that the women and men's indoor hockey teams are among the top-ranking sides in the world.

The women's team is 10th in the world while the men's team is 16th.