Introduce transfer clauses for hockey - Coach Ahadjie

Pretoria, Oct. 7, GNA - Emmanuel Ahadjie, Deputy coach of the national female hockey team, is proposing that a player transfer clause be inserted in the rules governing the sport in the country to help nursery clubs recoup their investment and motivate other coaches to harness future talents.

He told the GNA Sports in Pretoria, South Africa, on Friday that if measures were not taken to protect both the players' interest and their nursery clubs as pertains in football, the future might look bleak for the sport.

The deputy coach was expressing concern about how players left clubs to join the security services without any recourse to their mother clubs adding that this could frustrate coaches and demoralise them in their bid to develop talents.

About 80 per cent of both male and female players of the national teams, most of who are now in the security services, were groomed by coach Ahadjie at Kingsticks and Comet but these teams have not benefited in monetary terms because there are no laws governing player transfer. He said but for the love for the sport, most teams would have folded up, "because nothing pushes you apart from the love of it".

A certified coach by the International Hockey Federation and the African Federation, coach Ahadjie, a Fire Service Officer, switched from active play to coaching in 1988 until he was promoted to assist the head coach Richard Abaidoo in 2002.

He said his advocacy was not to seek financial reward for his contribution to the sport but to safeguard and protect the game from possible future legal actions.

The deputy coach said there was the need for national hockey coaches to be on salary like other sports so they could devote more time to the game.

"The only benefit we have is when we travel to such tournaments and per diems or winning bonuses are paid to us; this certainly is not encouraging," he told the GNA Sports. He said his comments must not be misconstrued but put in the proper context in the interest of developing and promoting the sport.