The Vice President of the Ghana Hockey Federation, Elizabeth King, says the U21 national team players are disheartened after Ghana’s withdrawal from the upcoming Junior Africa Cup.

The tournament which was scheduled to take place in Windhoek, Namibia from April 18 to 25, would have provided the young players with their first taste of international competition.

JoySports first reported on April 11 that Ghana would no longer participate in the tournament.

In an exclusive interview, King explained that despite submitting a detailed budget and documentation to the National Sports Authority (NSA) and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, no financial support was secured.

It is understood that about $150,000 was requested to cover airfare, accommodation, feeding, and other travel-related expenses for the two teams.

“We submitted the budget and all relevant documents to the NSA and the Ministry of Sports, hoping we would receive funding,” she said.

“Some individuals even began non-residential camping and training at their own expense, anticipating support from the Ministry.”

She added that hopes remained high until April 4, when the Ministry officially communicated its inability to support the team.

“We were still hopeful that the Ministry would step in, but on April 4th, they officially informed us that they couldn’t support the team. With no other option, we had to write to the African organizers and withdraw from the tournament which came as a shock to the continent.”

King also highlighted the emotional impact the withdrawal has had on the players, stressing how important international exposure is to their development.

“It was through the youth games that we developed a crop of players for our national teams, that was around 2010,” she said.

“We had the U21 team competing in East London and South Africa, and from those tournaments, the current senior team emerged.”

“The dream of any hockey player is to play in international matches not just local ones. So when they miss the opportunity to compete in such games, it becomes truly disheartening.”

Ghana’s absence from the Junior Africa Cup also denies the young team an opportunity to participate in the Junior World Cup.