The announcement confirms Ghana’s determination to reclaim its place among Africa’s hockey elite as the team prepares for continental action against the best sides on the continent.

The selected players are:

Benjamin Kweku Acquah, Daniel Ansah Anim, Luke Kofi Damalie, Stephen Ofosu Asamoah, Emmanuel Elorm Akaba, Benjamin Kwofie, Jesus Nii Nortey Nortey, Malik Abdul, Samuel Akpene Agbeli, Francis Lartey Tettey, Bernard Addo Quaye, Christopher Dogbe, Francis Folivi, Kofi Okyere Quagraine, Prince Klutse, Abdellah Adisson, Joshua Amartey Teye, and Sylvester Akwafo Apronti.

The squad blends experienced internationals and rising talents, signalling a balanced and competitive team ready for the challenge.

With months of preparation and domestic league form to build on, Team Ghana enters the tournament focused on one mission, which is continental glory.

“The team has shown strong commitment in training and we are confident they will make the nation proud,” Dr Ben K. D. Asante, President Ghana Hockey Association, noted.

Ghana’s journey at the Hockey AFCON 2025 begins next week in Cairo, where every pass, tackle, and goal will count toward their quest for gold.

The Ghana women’s hockey team, Black Sticks, secured Ghana’s 12th gold medal at the 2023 African Games after defeating Nigeria on penalties in the final at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Pitch.

Initially, Ghana’s team had defeated Nigeria 1-0 en route to the final. But the Nigerian team started stronger in the finals, signalling their intent to avenge the earlier loss.

The Nigerian ladies piled pressure but fine saves from Ghana’s shot stopper, Abigail Boye prevented them from scoring.

After two-quarters of an underwhelming performance, the Black Sticks began to find their rhythm in the third quarter creating chances and pinning the Nigerians at their own half.

But, the Nigerian goalkeeper, Uko Martha made scoring difficult for the Ghanaian players as she came up with super saves to prevent the ball from entering her net.

After four quarters of huffing and puffing, the game had to be decided on penalties.

Goalkeeper, Abigail Boye came to the rescue as her four penalty saves helped Ghana beat Nigeria 4-3 on penalties to win gold.

The team needed a win against Nigeria to seal their qualification to the final with six points and they did exactly that as Mavis Berko scored the only goal to secure all three points for Team Ghana.

While beaming in confidence, team captain, Elizabeth Opoku says, the team is ready to battle anyone in the final.

“Playing Nigeria was tougher than our previous game but at the end of the day, we won. The confidence to beat Nigeria came from the team. After the performance against Kenya, I had no doubt we would beat Nigeria. I don’t know who we will face in the final but we’re ready to face anyone that comes,” she said.

The Black Sticks women will face Nigeria or Kenya in the final on Friday, March 22, 2024.

Also, The men’s hockey team are one step away from following suit after they beat Kenya 3-1 to top their group with six points.

The Black Sticks men entered the game after already beating rivals, Nigeria 1-0 in the first game of the competition. Goals from Fialor Derrick, Addison Abdullah and Ntiamoah Alfred ensured a comfortable victory for the host nation.

The team will face Egypt on Wednesday in a top-of-the-table clash. Egypt edged past Nigeria 5-4 to also make it two wins out of two in the tournament.

Both Ghana and Egypt have six points with just goal difference separating them.

Speaking to JoySports, the captain of Team Ghana, Abbiew Charles is optimistic about a win for Ghana on Wednesday.

“Now we’re on top of the group with goal difference. They won their first two games and we also won ours. The expectation is very high, we are going to meet Egypt on our land and trust me, we are going for nothing but victory.”

At a press briefing in Accra on Tuesday, Seif Ahmed, President of the African Hockey Federation said that we came to play not to find excuses not to play.”

South Africa pulled their teams out of the competition,  citing safety concerns with the pitch.

“I believe hockey in Africa will benefit greatly from this pitch. There are 25 countries playing hockey in Africa. Only one country, South Africa has certified turfs. Of course, if we take over the turf late we cannot certify it. But, from our experience, we know it is safe to be used.”

The continental President intimated that South Africa did not follow due process in deciding to withdraw from the competition. He added that the claim that the pitch was substandard was untenable as the turf had not been laid at the time that the pictures being peddled by the South Africans were taken and also, as the quality of the turf could not be ascertained from the pictures taken. 

Mr. Seif further stated that the mandatory requirement for certification only arises where a pitch is to be used for Olympic qualifiers.

“What we have heard is that the real reason South Africa pulled out of the competition is because they are afraid of injuries, as they are preparing for the Olympic Games. We are here to protect the athletes, but we have no control over injuries.”

South Africa’s male and female teams qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after competing on the old turf at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Pitch in Accra in the African Cup of Nations, in 2022.

The newly installed surface at the Pitch is of the highest quality and is the same surface to be used at the upcoming Paris Olympics. 

With the exception of hockey, South Africa is competing in 17 other disciplines at Accra 2023 with a contingent of three hundred and forty-six (346).

With over 5,000 athletes from 54 countries participating, the games is featuring 29 different sporting disciplines across two cities – Accra and Cape Coast.

The cagey encounter saw few chances until Damalie Luke broke the deadlock by scoring late to give the Black sticks what proved to be the winner in the dying embers of the game.

The hard-fought win hands the host three points and the bragging right over their West African counterpart.

“At a point, our game plan changed but we had to keep our cool and prove to them [Nigeria] that we are better than them. Going forward you’ll see better performance from us,” Ghana captain Abbiw Charles told JoySports.

Elsewhere, Egypt emerged 3-2 winners over Kenya in a five-goal thriller.

Meanwhile, in the Women’s category, Ghana demolished Kenya 4-1 in what was an impressive performance.

Goals from Berko Mavis, Narkuor Vivian and a brace from captain, Elizabeth Opoku ensured that the Black Stick women started the tournament on a high note.

Elizabeth expressed confidence about the team’s chances of winning the competition.

“We are taking one match at a time and we need to correct the mistakes we did today and be ready for the next game against Nigeria, whom we have to beat at all cost to make it to the final,” she said.

“Our target is the ultimate (first) and I believe we can do it.”