Global first as SA hockey sticks up for gender parity

four weekends, from tomorrow until September 25. It will be held at the Randburg Astro. The franchises are owned by the hockey association. The teams will play each other once in a league stage before the top four teams progress to the semi-finals.

National men’s goalkeeper Rassie Pieterse, a long-standing servant of the sport in South African, said the league was the most important development in the sport.

“I’ve been playing for South Africa for many years and this is probably one of the most exciting things that could have happened to SA hockey,” Pieterse said.

“This is something we’ve always dreamed of, a professional hockey league, six men and six women’s franchises in the same tournament.

“This can only take hockey to the next level. I mean, hockey is one of the fastest-growing sports, and this is the type of support we’ve needed.”

The association said the Department of Sport and Recreation had made a considerable financial contribution to launching the league.

Langeni said the PHL would play a key role in preparing the national men and women’s sides for their world cups in 2018 and beyond.

Hockey was dealt a debilitating blow when neither team qualified for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Both teams won their sections in the Af- rican Championships, played in Randburg last year.

This earned them Olympic qualification, according to the International Olympic Committee and the International Hockey Federation’s criteria.

However, the SA Sports Confederation & Olympic Committee did not allow continental qualification. It said the teams had to finish in the top six of the world league to book a place for the global showpiece, a policy to which the hockey association had agreed.

Langeni said although the association had been “disappointed in not sending teams to the Rio Games”, this had given it an opportunity to get back to the drawing board.

“We see this as a new opportunity to reposition the sport and new goals to look forward to,” she said.

“Our focus is to qualify for the 2018 World Cup as well as the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia.”

Two of the 12 participating teams will be the South African under-21 men and women’s teams, with the competition serving as preparation for the International Hockey Federation’s Junior World Cups in Santiago, Chile, from November 24.