Chronicle Editor
Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO is set to play host to the Zimbabwe Under-21 hockey team when they play fundraiser matches at Khumalo Hockey Stadium starting tomorrow.
The games are set to run throughout the whole weekend, ending on Sunday as the Hockey Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) is looking to raise sponsorship to facilitate both teams’ travel to Egypt next month.
Both the men’s and women’s teams are set to play in the Africa Junior Championships in the North African country which will be a pathway to the Junior World Cup later in the year.
In the first match of the tournament, Zimbabwe will play against the Matabeleland team in the afternoon on Friday before going on to play three matches on Saturday against different opponents.
The first match on Saturday will be against Hippo in the morning followed by another encounter with Matabeleland in the afternoon before closing off the day with a clash with Khanimambo. Zimbabwe will close off their weekend with a match versus Hippo again on Sunday.
However, there will be other matches played on Saturday that do not include Zimbabwe as Matabeleland will go up against Khanimambo before the latter goes on to face Hippo. The other encounter will be between Matabeleland and Hippo Valley men which will be the day’s last fixture.
HAZ hosted exhibition matches last month as they prepare for the continental showdown which is edging closer with each day. Both their teams (men and women) played against select sides whom they beat 2-0 as a sign of their preparedness for the upcoming tournament. The matches were also used as means of trying to draw sponsorship from individuals and corporates to help assist the youngsters fulfill their dreams.
At the end of last week, the association announced that CC Sales sponsored the team caps as they prepare for Egypt.
“Thank you to CC Sales-Zimbabwe for the sponsorship of our U21’s team caps for their upcoming tour to Egypt,” posted HAZ on their Facebook account. — @brandon_malvinulaw
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