Ice hockey in Africa
Encyclopedia
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n countries that can be used for ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. Enthusiasts have formed national teams in several countries and an inaugural African Nations Cup of Ice Hockey was planned for 2009.
Competing countries will be South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
.
Southern African teams
In South Africa, the sport is governed by the South African Ice Hockey AssociationSouth African Ice Hockey Association
The South African Ice Hockey Association is the governing body that oversees ice hockey in South Africa. It was the first African nation to join the International Ice Hockey Federation.-External links:* at IIHF.com...
, which organized the first African Nations Cup at the ice rink in the Festival Shopping Centre in Kempton Park
Kempton Park, Gauteng
Kempton Park is a city on the East Rand in the Gauteng province, South Africa. Formerly an independent municipality in the Transvaal, Kempton Park no longer has its own municipal government, and has been part of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since 2000...
. The South Africa men's national ice hockey team has been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation
International Ice Hockey Federation
The International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 70 members...
since 1937. Teams include the Krugersdorp Wildcats, Scorpions Johannesburg, Cape Town Rams, Cape Town Sharks and Cape Town Southern Knights.
The Namibia national inline hockey team plays regularly in international competitions, and the Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
Ice and Inline Hockey
Inline hockey
Inline hockey, often referred to as roller hockey in the United States, is a sport similar to ice hockey but played with inline skates. Like its parent sport, skaters on two teams use hockey sticks to direct a disk-shaped puck into the opponent's goal; however, various details of the game, such as...
Association (NIIHA) has been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation since 1998.
North African teams
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, the Capitals, Ifis and Falcons all use a rink in a shopping mall in Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
.
The Morocco national ice hockey team
Morocco national ice hockey team
The Moroccan national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Morocco. Morocco's home rink is in the nations capital, Rabat.-History:...
represented their country in the 2008 Arab Cup of Ice Hockey
Arab Cup of Ice Hockey
The Arab Cup of Ice Hockey is an annual international ice hockey competition involving teams from Arab nations. The inaugural tournament took place on the 16th to 20 June 2008 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. A 2009 competition was planned to be held in Kuwait City, Kuwait but was...
, in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
.
There is no ice rink in Algeria yet, but there is a strong national team made up of Algerian players who live and play abroad, mostly in France or Quebec, including pros like Djamel Zitouni, Yassine Fahas
Yassine Fahas
Yassine Fahas is a professional ice hockey player.-Career:Fahas currently plays for Ducs de Dijon in the French Ligue Magnus...
and Harond Litim
Harond Litim
Harond Litim is a professional ice hockey player.-Career:Litim has played over 15 seasons in French league.In June 2008, Litim played for the Algeria national ice hockey team in the Arab Cup of Ice Hockey and won Most Valuable player of the tournament.-External links:**...
. The Algeria national ice hockey team
Algeria national ice hockey team
The Algerian national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Algeria.-History:Formed in 2006, Algeria is currently applying to become a member of the IIHF. The national team was formed with the increasing number of Algerians who are playing ice hockey around the world...
plays in the Arab Ice Hockey Federation
Arab Ice Hockey Federation
The Arab Ice Hockey Federation was created in late 2008, aimed at progressing the sport of ice hockey in the Middle East and North Africa. It is based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and currently has 6 members....
.
Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
's first ice rink is at The Blue Ice complex in the Yasmine Hammamet resort.
The Tunisian Ice hockey team is being formed by the ice hockey player Ihab Ayed from France.
There is an ice skating rink in the Ancient Egypt Mall in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and another at Family Land in Maadi
Maadi
Maadi is a wealthy suburb south of Cairo, Egypt. The town is home to the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Cairo American College , Lycée Français du Caire , Misr American College , Maadi British International School , the Cairo Rugby Club, and the national Egyptian Geological Museum.-...
, Helwan, but apparently there are not yet any ice hockey teams in Egypt.
Other locations
Ice hockey is also played in Côte d'IvoireCôte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, although only by amateurs, on a rink built in the 1950s for Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n tourists in the Hotel d'Ivoire in Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
.
In 2005, the Solar Ice Rink
Solar Ice Rink
The Solar Ice Rink is an ice rink located in Nairobi, Kenya. The rink is located in the Panari Sky Centre, a large retail, leisure and hotel accommodation complex....
was opened in the Panari Hotel in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya. Several Kenyan schools have shown interest in setting up ice hockey teams.