President of International Hockey Federation Leandro Negre, who is scheduled to inaugurate the National School Hockey, arrives in Dhaka today.
Negre, who made his first visit to the country in February 2013, will open the national school hockey tomorrow. A total of 102 schools from across the country will participate in the meet that will be played at 10 venues. First Security Islami Bank are the sponsors.
Bangladesh Hockey Federation has handed over the 16 composite hockey sticks and nine balls to each of the schools so that the youngsters can prepare themselves for the upcoming challenge. A total of 29 teams from will qualify for the final round that will begin in the capital on 24 February.
The inaugural ceremony will take place at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium with 560 school girls displaying Bangladesh’s heritage.
The prize money for the tournament is Tk30,000 but the hockey federation has asked the sponsors to increase the amount. The chairman of the organising committee Dr. Mahfuzur Rahman, in a bid to inspire the youngsters, has declared a monetary award of Tk100,000, 50,000 and 30,000 for the top three goal scorers. BHF will pick out 65 players for intensive training and groom them for the future.
Details of the event were given to the press by by federation general secretary Khwaja Rahmatullah.
