Zambia’s veteran sports administrator Hazel Kennedy has been elected as a Board Member of the International Hockey Federation – FIH – at the 50th FIH Statutory Congress held in Doha, Qatar at the weekend.
Kennedy, who is President of the Zambia Hockey Association, went through unopposed at the global event.
The Zambia Hockey Association says Kennedy’s election is a victory for Zambia and Africa.
“We are proud to announce that Madam Hazel Kennedy has been elected UNOPPOSED as a Board Member of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) at the 50th FIH Statutory Congress currently underway in Doha, Qatar,” the association announced in a statement.
“Madam Kennedy, who is the President of Zambia Hockey Association continues to fly the Zambian flag high on the global stage. This is not just a win for Zambia Hockey, but for Zambian Sport and Africa as a whole.”
National Olympic Committee of Zambia – NOCZ – President Alfred Foloko has hailed the milestone achieved by Kennedy in Qatar.
“The achievement is a proud moment for Zambian sport and Africa,” Foloko said.
“We wish her every success as she continues to fly the Zambian flag high on the global stage,” he added.
Kennedy’s love for sport goes back to when she was a young girl participating in three sports – athletics, swimming and hockey – but she finally settled for hockey.
According to NOCZ, her first experience in sports administration came when she was selected as a committee member as part of school sports administration.
She was later selected to the national team and played at various regional competitions. Kennedy earned her first colours at the regional triangular tournament which Zambia used to have with Zimbabwe and Malawi and later captained the Zambian team.
She rose to become Secretary of the Zambia Hockey Association and later Treasurer.
During this time, she was also appointed to the Africa Hockey Federation Board as a member and served for two terms before stepping down.
From 1992 to 2002 she served as a member of the National Sports Council of Zambia. This complemented her personal growth and helped her understand the sports set-up in Zambia working with Government.
In 2002 she became Acting President of ZHA and immediately started working with local schools that joined ZHA, forming the Copperbelt league. She remained Acting President until 2017 when she was officially voted into office as President.
In 2003 she became a member of the National Olympic Committee of Zambia and became Secretary General in 2008 until 2017 when she was selected as Vice President of NOCZ.
She was Chef de Mission for Team Zambia at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
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