Cold Weather Hindered Nigerian Hockey Teams, Says Coach
Delta Queens Hockey Club coach, Ade Jacobs, said the cold weather in Egypt was the reason for the poor performance of Nigerian teams at the 2025 Africa Cup for Club Champions which ends on Friday.
Jacobs said the five Nigerian clubs at the championships could have performed better, but for the weather in the Egyptian city of Ismailia. The Delta Queens hockey club of Asaba lost 3-1 to Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), in a Match Day 5 fixture at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia.
The result meant the Nigerian side could only finish third in the five-team Pool A and they missed out on semi-final qualification in the women’s championship.
Delta Queens had two wins and two losses for six points, after scoring eight goals and conceding five, finishing behind pool winners GRA of Ghana and compatriots Kada Queens of Kaduna.
Jacobs said from Egypt that he initially had confidence in his team’s chances of reaching the final and lifting the trophy.
“We started the competition on a good note, but weather was a problem for us, as well as the other Nigerian club sides here in Egypt,” Jacobs said.
“In spite of the cold weather conditions, my players fought well to have a good performance in the championship. They gave it a good fight. However, the cold weather here in Ismailia really affected all the Nigerian teams here.”
Delta Queens beat Kampala Hockey Club of Uganda 5-1 in their opening match, before losing 2-0 to Kada Queens. The Nigerians then went on to beat Sharkia Sporting Club of Egypt 2-0, before losing 3-1 to GRA.
The coach however observed that all the Nigerian teams did well in their various games. Kada Queens of Kaduna finished second from the women’s Pool A to advance to the third-place/fourth-place match against Pool B’s runners-up, Kenya’s Mombasa Sports Club.
Nigeria’s third representatives in the women’s championship, Plateau Queens of Jos, finished fourth among five clubsides in Pool B after a win, two draws and one loss.
In the men’s championship, Kada Stars of Kaduna finished third while Niger Flickers of Minna finished fifth in the five-team Pool A.
This was after Kada Stars won two matches, drew one and lost one, scoring 13 goals and conceding 12. Niger Flickers on their part lost all their four matches after scoring six times and conceding 22 times.
The championship, which had 10 male and 10 female clubs from a total of five countries, began on January 30th and will end on Friday, February 7th.
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