2023 Men's African Olympic Qualifier facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
2023 Men's African Olympic Qualifier

African Hockey Road To Paris 2024
Tournament details
Host country	South Africa
City	Pretoria
Dates	29 October – 5 November
Teams	8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	University of Pretoria
Final positions
Champions	South Africa (5th title)
Runner-up	Egypt
Third place	Ghana
Tournament statistics
Matches played	20
Goals scored	104 (5.2 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Matthew Guise-Brown (11 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Benjamin Acquah
Fair play award	Uganda
← 2019 (previous)

The 2023 Men's African Olympic Qualifier was a big field hockey tournament. It was held in Pretoria, South Africa, from October 29 to November 5, 2023. This event was super important because the winning team would get to play in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris!

South Africa won the tournament. This means they earned their spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

How Teams Qualified for the Tournament

Teams from across Africa competed to get into this special tournament. They qualified through different ways, including their world rankings and other smaller tournaments. Eight teams made it to the main event.

How Teams Qualified	Date	Host	Spots	Qualified Team
FIH World Rankings	N/A	N/A	2	South Africa  Egypt
Northeast African Qualifying Tournament	6 June 2022	Cancelled	2	Kenya  Uganda
Northwest African Qualifying Tournament	25 August 2022	Cancelled	2	Ghana  Nigeria
FIH Central and South Africa Qualifying Tournament	31 August – 4 September 2022	Harare	2	Zimbabwe  Zambia
Total			8

First Games: Pool Play

The eight teams were split into two groups, Pool A and Pool B. Each team played against the other teams in their group. The top two teams from each pool moved on to the semi-finals.

Pool A Teams and Results

Pool A included South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. South Africa played really well in this group.

• South Africa beat Zimbabwe 10-0 in their first game.
• Uganda won against Nigeria with a score of 5-0.
• Zimbabwe then beat Uganda 2-1.
• South Africa continued their strong play, beating Nigeria 8-2.
• Nigeria won a close game against Zimbabwe, 4-3.
• South Africa finished pool play by beating Uganda 11-0.

Pool B Teams and Results

Pool B had Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia. Egypt showed great skill in their matches.

• Egypt started strong, beating Kenya 2-0.
• Ghana defeated Zambia 3-1.
• Kenya then won against Zambia 1-0.
• Egypt had another victory, beating Ghana 1-0.
• Egypt continued their winning streak, beating Zambia 4-1.
• Ghana secured their spot by beating Kenya 3-1.

Playoffs: Who Finished Where?

After the pool games, teams played more matches to decide their final rank. The top four teams played for the championship, while the other teams played for lower places.

Games for Fifth to Eighth Place

Teams that didn't make the semi-finals played to determine places 5 through 8.

	5–8th place semi-finals				Fifth place
	2 November
	Nigeria	5
					4 November
	Zambia	1
					Nigeria	4
	2 November
					Kenya	3
	Kenya	2
	Zimbabwe	1
					Seventh place
					4 November
					Zambia	2
					Zimbabwe	0

• In the semi-finals for these spots, Nigeria beat Zambia 5-1.
• Kenya won against Zimbabwe 2-1.
• For seventh place, Zambia defeated Zimbabwe 2-0.
• Nigeria won the fifth-place game, beating Kenya 4-3 in a close match.

Games for the Top Four Places

These were the most exciting games, leading to the final and the Olympic spot!

	Semi-finals				Final
	3 November
	South Africa	7
					5 November
	Ghana	0
					South Africa	2
	3 November
					Egypt	1
	Egypt	9
	Uganda	1
					Third place
					5 November
					Ghana	7
					Uganda	1

Semi-finals: The Road to the Final

• Egypt played Uganda and won by a huge score of 9-1.
• South Africa faced Ghana and also had a big win, 7-0.

These results meant South Africa and Egypt would play in the final!

Third Place Game

• Ghana played Uganda for the bronze medal. Ghana won convincingly, 7-1, earning third place in the tournament.

The Grand Final

• The final match was between South Africa and Egypt. South Africa won 2-1 in a very exciting game! This victory meant South Africa qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Final Standings

Here's how all the teams finished in the tournament:

Top Goal Scorers

Many players scored goals during the tournament. Here are the top players who found the back of the net the most: There were 104 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 5.2 goals per match.

11 goals

8 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

More About Field Hockey Events

• 2023 Women's African Olympic Qualifier
• Field hockey at the 2023 African Games