ALTON Hockey Club have appointed former Great Britain and England international Soma Singh as their head coach for the 2016-17 season.

Singh captained his country and played 145 times for England and Great Britain and represented Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. He is currently director of hockey at Lord Wandsworth College.

Alton Hockey Club chairman Dave Harvey said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming such a well-respected and influential hockey personality to Alton Hockey Club.

“We have great aspirations and are in a fantastic period of change and development which we hope Soma will contribute further to.

“We are all very excited for the season to come.”

The club has grown so much that it has almost reached capacity on the one Amery Hill pitch, so they are currently raising money in conjunction with Eggar’s School to build a new pitch.

They will be hosting a fundraising evening on Saturday, September 24, including a hog-roast, live music, bar and auction of a range of items.

More details on the event and tickets are available at the website: www.pushforapitch.co.uk