KUALA LUMPUR – With their consistent performance by qualifying for the World Cup the past four times and ranking 10th in the world, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) has urged the government to provide them with more funding if the national squad is to do better on the international stage.
With the national team headed for the 2023 World Cup in January, MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said the funding currently provided to the national squad needs to be reassessed.
“If the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) wants us to do better, the funding has to be relooked.”
“We need more funding mainly for coaches to bring in more support, experts, new equipment, and get the players to play more matches,” he said during a press conference today.
“If we want to go to the next level, there must be more funds given to MHC, whether it be through KBS or direct funding.”
Subahan added that he is in the midst of preparing a budget to obtain more funding for the governing body.
Meanwhile, he also said the national team will be sending two of its coaches and former goalkeepers S. Kumar and Roslan Jamaluddin to a training camp in the Netherlands for three weeks.
He said the programme will improve our coaches’ knowledge on conducting their own training regimes.
“When they come back, we want them to pass on that information to the junior coaches.
“We will be sending them to other states and work with state teams as well,” he added.
Subahan also announced that the new dates for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be from November 1 to 10.
It was previously scheduled to be held from 15 November to 25, but with the inaugural Nation’s Cup starting on the 28th, Subahan said it would be too short of a time for a turnaround.
National men’s hockey team head coach, Arul Selvaraj also said the squad will be heading to Spain in September to play four matches.
He added that towards December, they have plans to play with the New Zealand team. – The Vibes, July 21, 2022
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