The South African men's team celebrate their victory at last year's FIH Nations Cup in Potchefstroom. Picture: Mogamat Nathier Sulaiman/Gallo Images
Perhaps the biggest problem for Olympic sports in this country is that they are stuck in a catch-22 situation. They can’t improve their standards until they have sufficient resources and they can’t get sufficient resources until they improve their standards.
The only way for these sports to drag themselves out of this never-ending circle of frustration is for enough fans of a code to show their support that sponsors see the value in backing them.
That’s not to say anybody owes players and federations anything, but when national teams are able to pull themselves from this quagmire to the point that their heads emerge from the mud, supporters need to take the opportunity to get behind them and launch what could be the beginning of a bright future.
Many codes never get their noses above the surface, but for all the troubles the sport has faced, SA Hockey has managed to climb high enough that they can be seen.
In no way will the national men’s team be entering the Hockey World Cup starting in India today as medal contenders, but they have done enough over the last year to gain South Africa’s support.
Last season, they achieved their best ever finish at the Commonwealth Games, finishing fourth in Melbourne after reaching the semi-finals for the first time in 20 years. And they went on to secure victory at the FIH Nations Cup in Potchefstroom, grabbing a qualifying spot for the 2023/24 FIH Pro League.
READ MORE: SA hockey men overcome big challenges in remarkable triumph
They have their work cut out for them in India, however, facing Australia (the world’s top-ranked team), Argentina and France in Pool A.
The SA men have never finished higher than 10th at the World Cup, and they achieved their worst ever placing when they finished last at the previous edition of the showpiece in 2018.
But they raised their standard against the odds last season, and if ever they deserved support from hockey fans, the time is now.
It could be an opportunity to lift the sport out of the mud, and supporters might not get many more opportunities to lift the status of their sport. They had better take advantage while they can.
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