It has been confirmed that Ireland's participation in the men's Junior World Cup in Hobart, Tasmania, next October will depend on whether one or two African countries take part.

Basically, if five or more teams play in the African Junior Cup from March 26th to April 1st, two of the countries will qualify for the World Cup. But if there are as few as four participants in the African tournament, it will be deemed to lack sufficient depth and therefore will yield only one qualifier. This would leave an extra place for Europe's seventh ranked country at under-21 level, i.e., Ireland. Because they can not know whether there will be a vacancy at Hobart until the end of March, the Irish Hockey Association - if they decide to send a team - will face the dilemma of having only six months to prepare for the tournament, in particular in raising the huge funding required.

Furthermore, having a squad on standby would have its complications for coach George Blackwood, though at least the Celtic Cup in the spring will be there to provide a build-up.

Junior World Cup (Hobart, October 9th21st, 2001) - Pool A: Australia, Chile, England, Ireland or Africa 2; Pool B: Africa 1, France, Korea, Netherlands; Pool C: Canada, India, Scotland, Spain; Pool D: Argentina, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand.