Zimbabwe Under-21 hockey side for the Junior World Championship qualifiers left for Namibia in batches, the more affluent travelling by air while the rest had to endure the road trip to Windhoek.

The last batch of players – who were travelling by air – left the country on Wednesday afternoon as the players had to pay for their own travelling expenses.

Hockey Association of Zimbabwe president Humphrey Chigwedere said they had no option but to let the players travel with different modes of transport, exposing the social classes within the sport.

“Players paid their way to go out there because we could not meet the travelling expenses but all those who have been selected have made the trip.

“Those who could afford to go by plane left today (Wednesday) and the cheaper option was for those who could not afford (to fly)

“It does (remove the aspect of team solidarity) but that is the reality on the ground. We tried to suggest to that everyone but the parents of the players showed resistance,” said Chigwedere.

Like Tanzania who left Dar-es-Salam on Monday, the first car left Zimbabwe on Monday and the second road batch departed on Tuesday while the other batch left from the Harare International Airport on Wednesday.

“Yes they left in three batches but the likes of Uganda have done that before because they came Zimbabwe by road when we hosted the competition but if these were senior players then maybe would all have gone by road.”

However, some teams have pulled out of the tournament and this has forced the organisers to conduct the draw on Thursday or Friday morning as Zambia were not sure if they would make the trip.

“That has forced them to have the draw at a later stage because Zambia are not sure while Kenya and Ghana are some of the teams that have withdrawn,” added Chigwedere.