JHF boss eyeing more corporate partnerships

After a landmark moment for local hockey, Jamaica Hockey Federation (JHF) president Fabian Stewart is hoping that the momentum can be used to gain the necessary corporate backing not only for hosting future international tournaments but to assist in their first appearance in the Hockey 5s World Cup.

The Jamaican men made history on Sunday defeating Paraguay 5-2 to earn third-place honours in the Hockey 5s Pan American Cup and a maiden appearance in next year’s World Cup in Oman. Jamaica were hosting the tournament for the first time and Stewart said that the hard work to run the tournament even with limited resources is a feat that they are proud of.

“The team has done exceptionally well. But behind the performance of the team on the field was a magnificent performance of individuals off the field. The management team and the work that they did was well received by the president and the tournament management team of the Pan American Hockey Federation,” Stewart told The Gleaner. “But to see the achievement of the young men made it all worthwhile. All the hard work hosting a tournament, especially with the resources that we had, is difficult to put into words but it was very gratifying to all to see that all the hard work paid off and this is hard work on both sides.”

Pan American Hockey Federation president Alberto Budeisky said that the invitation is open for Jamaica to host additional events of this calibre in the future given the positive reviews they have got over the past week.

“Jamaica has to be proud of the job that they have done, with the local people, with the federation and all the partners that have been working together for this big event. It’s been six years since we had an event here and Jamaica has the doors open from the Pan American Hockey Federation and also the International Hockey Federation to host any other events,” Budeisky said.

More partnership

What Stewart hopes will come from this is more corporate partnership not only in their preparations for Oman but in the long-term future of the game, particularly in this format where they see potential in being a force.

“Now that we are going to the World Cup, we are allowing our stakeholders to see that once we put the proper mechanisms in place, even with the limited resources that we have that, we can accomplish not only qualifying but being able to play at the highest level in terms of hockey 5s” Stewart said. “All the work should help us with those pillars because we require the level of partnership and engagement to continue to build, especially at the youth level where it is very important to sustain a particular type of development to continue qualifying for these tournaments.”

Stewart said that the work has started from the administrative side to engage current and prospective partnerships to help the team in their preparations for next year.

“We have started pulling the people together to look at the road to Oman. On the other side, we will work towards some level of series partnership with corporate Jamaica and government entities to provide the team with the necessary type of gains that they would require to properly prepare for representation at the World Cup,” Stewart said.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com