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Lack of funds hinders Nigeria's participation at hockey World Cup

Xinhua, March 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Nigeria' s male team will not participate in the junior World Cup of Hockey slated for New Delhi later this year due to lack of funds, local authorities said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Nigeria Hockey Federation described the development as "a sad one", noting the team' s non-participation at the continental tourney which served as qualifiers for the World Cup, had made it a reality.

The African Nations Junior Cup hockey tourney held in Windhoek, the Namibian capital, ended on Monday.

"We were to go with two teams, the male and the female team, but the money approved by the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports was too small. If the money had been released, we would have gone with only the male team as a result of this," said the statement signed by Nigeria's hockey chief, Austine Balewa.

Nigeria' s non-participation in the event was a serious setback to both the players and the coaches, and a morale-dampener to their efforts in the sport, the statement added. Endit