Mapping our fortunes

28/02/1999

THE 2002 World Cup bidding committee have prepared an 84-page report which
is expected to put Malaysia back on the hockey map again.
According to Malaysia Hockey Federation (MHF) officials, the bid, to be
finalised by the 20-member International Hockey Federation (FIH) executive
board on March 15, is as good as in the bag.
"The National Sports Council, the Sports Minister, Kuala Lumpur's mayor
and even RTM have given us supporting letters for the bid. With the
backing of the Government and world class facilities at Bukit Jalil, we
have a good chance of hosting the World Cup which we last staged in 1975,"
said MHF deputy president Datuk Seri P. Alagendra.
Malaysia, who finished fourth in 1975, have only qualified for the World
Cup three times since.
Playing at home in 2002, with the support of the local crowd behind the
them might do wonders for the team, like what it did for the Commonwealth
Games where Malaysia won silver.
Six countries were in the running but only Malaysia, Spain and Belgium
submitted the paperwork. Egypt withdrew while Australia and Ireland failed
to submit their documents when the deadline expired on Feb 15.
With a proven track record in hosting international events, and better
facilities than Spain and Belgium, the FIH have a clear winner for the
bid. Belgium are said to be out of the running because FIH are not "too
happy" that they share the border with Holland who last hosted the World
Cup.
Crowd support is one of the considerations for FIH approval and in this
aspect, Malaysia enjoy the advantage over Spain whose hockey in centred in
Madrid only.
Belgium submitted their bid to host both the men's and women's finals
while Malaysia and Spain bid only for the men's event. Should Malaysia get
the men's, Belgium could host the women's.
Among the things requested by FIH in the bid are two adjacent pitches,
four changing rooms, television facilities and good transport
arrangements.
"Malaysia qualify on basic requirements. We have also drawn up a plan to
have the best team available for the World Cup. Scouts are right now at
the Champions Schools tournament in Malacca, for one, to find replacements
for ageing stars," he added .
"The National Sports Council has been supportive and told us to start
preparing a team for the 2002 assault, irrespective of whether we win the
bid or not."
(END)