New Indian Express: Part time jobs to pursue full-time passion
By Swaroop Swaminathan
LUCKNOW: IN terms of hockey infrastructure in Africa, Egypt has it pretty good. There are about 2000 players in the system, and enough money to ensure training at the national level. At the very basic, it’s affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH). That in itself is significant, because quite a few African countries aren’t even members. Dig deeper and life isn’t all that.
One of their coaches, Sayed Elbidiwy, who is here with the junior team for the World Cup, says there are quite a few pitches in the country. Not so apparently. According to the FIH website, there were three certified pitches in the country. That changed on December 5, when two surfaces lost FIH certificates.
For comparison, Lucknow itself has at least two certified turfs.
*****
The Canadian side have a rich history, even if the country’s inhabitants sometimes don’t really grasp what the sport is. “I’ve to explain what the sport is to people who sometimes don’t understand,” U-21 captain Brandon Pereira said after their match against India on Thursday. That, though, is the least of their problems. They, like the seniors, pay to play.
*****
When the Austrians toured the Netherlands, they stopped at a place to eat. Or at least that’s what they thought. Only later did they realise they would be staying there, bunking up, six per room. “We never thought we would end up staying up there,” Oliver Binder, who scored for them against Argentina on Friday, said. “We thought this is where we would eat before heading to our hotel. But then we moved to these rooms, each of them having six beds.” It was a youth hostel.
*****
Those are the kind of stories others have brought here. Canadian coach Indy Sehmbi perfectly highlighted differences between haves and have-nots. “We know they’ve (India) put in lots of money into touring, travelling and matches. It’s our first international match since May. India, in that time, have probably played 40-50 matches.”
Pereira, one of 11 players of Indian origin in the team, has pumped in $10,000 into the system so that he gets to play the sport around the world. All the 18 who are here have done the same.
The Austrians, coached by Cedric D’Souza, have a similar tale. “We’re a small federation, and don’t have too much money to travel,” Nitan Sondhi, the manager, says.
“To afford that, every player has to contribute some money.”
Given most of them are students — two of the 18 can only drink beer — they do all sorts of day jobs to try and fund their futures. Whenever Paul Supper isn’t on the field, he is bartending. Some players have even taken a year out of school to improve their skills. “F*** this one year (in terms of education), and let’s give our best to the team,” is the attitude Binder says some of them have adopted.
The situation is very different in Egypt. The popularity of football, basketball and squash mean hockey comes very low in the food chain. “Only 12 clubs play the sport in our country,” Elbidiwy points out.
“The Federation has been trying to increase that on an annual basis, but the costs (sticks, balls, shoes and general equipment) ensure many clubs are reluctant to introduce it. Throw in the fact that the country doesn’t have a single blue turf, and you realise it’s a hard grind. ‘We have no money’.
“The boys had to get out comfort zones. They had to know standards of international hockey.”
On Friday, they held Argentina 1-1. Out of their comfort zone, but not out of depth.