ZIMBABWE’S Under-21 ladies field hockey team has been drawn in Group B of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey Women's Junior World Cup set for Chile later this year.
In Group B Zimbabwe will face Argentina, Korea and Spain as they feature in their third consecutive junior World Cup appearance for the ladies under-21 side after taking part in Santiago, Chile and Potchefstroom, South Africa editions in 2016 and 2022 respectively.
Zimbabwe will kick off the competition against Korea on November 29 before entertaining Spain two days later and finish their group campaign against Argentina on December 4.
The country's under-21 ladies field hockey team outclassed Kenya back in March at the Junior Africa Cup in Ismailia, Egypt to qualify for their fifth Junior World Cup.
Santiago's National Stadium will host the tournament which will run from November 29 to December 10.
The draw, which was held on Thursday — where the pools and match schedule were revealed — was graced with the presence of the highest governmental sports authority of Chile, inister Jaime Pizarro.
“Through its ‘athletes first’ approach, mentioned in the new Empowerment and Engagement strategy that was recently launched, FIH has made youth a strong focus going forward. The FIH Junior World Cups play a crucial role in this regard," FIH President Tayyab Ikram said.
"Furthermore, as one of my priorities as FIH President is to highlight the powerful contributions hockey can make outside of the sport itself for individuals, community and society – with the important topic of sustainability being an integral part of this ambition - I look forward to seeing the ways this will be realized in this event.
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"Congratulations to all 16 teams and special thanks to the Chile Hockey Federation as they will, as always, be fantastic hosts for this 10th edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup,” he added.
Chilean Hockey Federation President Andrés de Witt indicated that “it is a great opportunity to continue developing our sport internationally. We appreciate the trust of the international hockey authorities. We invite all countries to trust our organization.”
The Chilean Hockey Federation was selected in 2021 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to host the FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup 2023.
Groups
Pool A: Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, Chile
Pool B: Argentina, Korea Republic, Spain, Zimbabwe
Pool C: Germany, India, Belgium, Canada
Pool D: England, USA, New Zealand, Japan
