The recent FIH Men’s Pro League matches at the NWU Astroturf this past fortnight could not have come at a better time.
Especially, considering that it acted as a semi-curtain raiser for the upcoming FIH Women’s Junior Hockey World Cup in Potchefstroom from 1 to 12 April this year.
The Women’s Junior Hockey World Cup was postponed due to the Covid-19 omicron variant in December last year, but now preparations are more than underway for this rescheduled event.
A major chunk of tournament readiness came under the magnifying glass with the hosting of the Pro League matches in February. In the end, the NWU came out with flying colours.
The local organising committee (LOC) for this FIH Pro League section did outstanding work in accommodating the teams and making sure everything went smoothly.
Five nations (South Africa, France, Germany, India and the Netherlands) battled it out in 14 matches in Potchefstroom from 8 to 21 February, with some world-class hockey on display. Sheldon Rostron, head of the LOC for the FIH Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup, stated that hosting the FIH Pro League matches came at a perfect time ahead of the Junior World Cup.
“We had already done about 80 per cent of the work by last December, so the only thing we needed to sort out for the rescheduled tournament was arranging the services, scheduling the dates and booking the accommodation. The Pro League has given us a chance to smooth out a few elements ahead of the World Cup,” stated Rostron.
He also said the LOC had received much positive feedback from the Pro League teams. “The LOC and student body did a fantastic job these past two weeks. We have had great feedback from the SA Hockey Federation and the FIH on how well the hosting of the Pro League went. The weather was also fantastic and the teams could complete all the matches as planned,” said Rostron confidently.
The upcoming Women’s Junior Hockey World Cup will feature three new teams to replace the qualified countries that cannot attend the rescheduled event. Malaysia will replace Japan; Wales will replace Spain and Ukraine will replace Belgium. The official 16 teams are as follows: •South Africa, Zimbabwe (Africa) •India, Korea, Malaysia (Asia) •England, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, Wales (Europe) •Argentina, Canada, United States, Uruguay (Pan Americas). 
