A wonderful hockey development initiative was held on 16 June, South Africa’s Youth Day, at Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town, the venue hosting the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup 2025-26, which runs until 20 June.

Youth Day is a public holiday in South Africa that commemorates a significant chapter in the nation’s history. The occasion provided a perfect opportunity to bring together several hundred children from South Africa’s various modified hockey hubs for a couple of hours of 6-a-side matches.

The participating children came from underprivileged communities across Cape Town and enjoyed the chance to showcase their passion for the sport and learn from the South African national team players, who were also in attendance, joining the youngsters on the field and sharing valuable advice to help them develop their game.

Following this fantastic session, the children stayed on to watch the first Nations Cup match of the day between Malaysia and New Zealand, making the experience even more memorable.

National team player Senzwesihle Ngubane said: “It’s very important for us to give back to the community. We all started there. One day, some of these youngsters will also wear the national team jersey, just like us.”