HAZ meet over club championships

Sport
The Hockey Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) has proposed to move the Africa Cup of Club Championships (ACCC) to be hosted by Khumalo Hockey Stadium in Bulawayo from November 22 to 30 so that the tournament does not coincide with the African Union Sports Council Region V Under-20 Youth Games to be hosted in the city from December 5 to 15.

The Hockey Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) has proposed to move the Africa Cup of Club Championships (ACCC) to be hosted by Khumalo Hockey Stadium in Bulawayo from November 22 to 30 so that the tournament does not coincide with the African Union Sports Council Region V Under-20 Youth Games to be hosted in the city from December 5 to 15. FORTUNE MBELE SPORTS REPORTER

The newly-elected HAZ executive committee will be meeting in Harare today where an update on hosting the club championships will be heard. The tournament is yet to get approval from the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC).

The African Hockey Federation had requested Zimbabwe to once again host the African club championships which the country hosted in 2012 after clubs indicated they were not willing to travel to Nigeria due to the outbreak of Ebola.

HAZ vice-president Humphrey Chigwedere said they had sent a proposal to have the tournament, usually played in December, brought forward, so that it does not coincide with the Region V Games.

“We are having an executive meeting tomorrow (today). We indicated to the African Hockey Federation that we don’t want the tournament to coincide with the Region V Games. We have proposed November 22 to 30, but we are still to get endorsement from the SRC to host tournaments of this nature. The closing date for clubs to confirm their participation is October 17. This is for planning purposes as clubs have to be booked into hotels. We will be getting an update tomorrow (today) at the executive committee meeting,” Chigwedere said.

Zimbabwe hosted the ACCC at Khumalo Hockey Stadium in December 2012 where Sharkia of Egypt retained the club championships title in the men’s category while the women’s section was won by Telkom Ladies of Kenya.