Those who passed were awarded certificates of competence and also received Olympic Solidarity certificates for taking part, along with those who did not make the grade. 

The awarding of certificates was carried out by Victor Banda, the National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) treasurer and technical commission chairperson, and Tahir Zaman, the course facilitator on behalf of Olympic Solidarity and the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

Banda thanked Zaman for improving the skills of the region’s young coaches in hockey, which is witnessing rapid growth, especially in Zambia.

He cited the performances of Zambia’s boys’ team at the 2018 African Youth Games in Algeria’s capital Algiers, where they finished runners-up to South Africa, and the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in Argentina, where they ended fourth.

Banda added that the participants who attained competence should take advantage of the knowledge and skills gained to popularise and improve hockey in the countries from which they hail.

As for the others, he said they should keep trying until they achieve competence.

Zaman thanked everyone who played a part in ensuring he was able to visit Zambia, especially Olympic Solidarity, the FIH, the NOCZ, the Zambia Hockey Association and the participants.

He said that since the last time had visited Zambia in 2013, hockey had improved drastically not just in the country but also across southern Africa.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Zimbabwe’s Kudzai Nyabezi thanked the organisers and Zaman for being part of the training and assured everyone that with the skills and knowledge gained, they would strive to improve the sport from grassroots level.

Ten of his fellow participants were from Zambia – Martha Kalomo, Annie Mvula, Richard Lungu, Shadrick Katele, Phillimon Bwali, Andrew Moyo, Gift Bwalya, Peter Muchoka, Kelvin Mbulo and Brenda Kalunga.

There were also three from Malawi – Geoffrey Biya, Temwa Chirwa and Ulemu Ngwira – and three from Botswana, who were Thoriso Bogwasi, Conrad Benn and Sox Mpho.

Among the others present were Eswatini’s Prosper Sithole and Zimbabwe’s Kanyiwe Tafuma.

The course was held under the auspices of Olympic Solidarity, the FIH and the NOCZ.