MHL needs cash infusion

28/05/2002


THE Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) attracted four world class foreign
players, but with proper marketing there will be room for more.
The MHL was a huge success for League champions Tenaga Nasional Bhd and
Overall Champions Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) because they won a title
each, but for the other seven teams, they might find it harder to field a
decent side next season.
This downhill slide needs to be arrested fast, if the MHL wants to
remain as the premier hockey tournament in the country and not be
overtaken by the Junior Hockey League in terms of popularity.
Teams like Navy, RAMD, Jolly Lads Sports Club and Maybank need fresh
reasons to keep on playing in the MHL and they have nowhere to turn to but
the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) for help.
Even MHL debutants Andersen Sports Club might find it difficult to
convince their sponsors after failing to win anything despite having two
foreign players.
BSN coach C. Paramalingam feels that for MHL to become recognised
worldwide as a quality tournament, the first thing MHF should do is to
increase the prize money.
"The prize money has been the same since the MHL started more than 10
years ago, and with the cost of living having gone up three-fold since,
MHF should consider increasing the overall prize money from RM40,000 to
RM150,000. The same goes for the League title which pays a paltry
RM20,000.
"When that is done, more teams will scramble to take part and the
selection base for national trainees will also grow," said the coach who
landed BSN their hat-trick Overall title on Sunday.
He also suggested that MHF considers giving out match bonuses and grants
similar to the ones given in JHL.
For the JHL this season, each team will receive RM5,000 from MHF and the
bonus for each win is RM200.
The crowd came to watch Pakistanis Sohail Abbas and Kashif Jawad and
Indians Len Ayappa and Dhanraj Pillay play. And if more teams can afford
to hire foreign players, interest in the MHL will grow and sponsors will
also try to get a slice of the pie.
MHF did get some television coverage but it was only for five minutes
during the midnight news.
MHF must package the MHL in a such a way next season so that footage of
the matches are shown, like soccer over television.
"Showing recorded matches on television is one of the ways to promote
the sport in a big manner. I hope MHF will consider this proposal," said
Paramalingam.
During the Kuala Lumpur World Cup, a few team managers were asked their
feelings about seconding players to the MHL and the response was very
good. The Japanese were even willing to play in MHL just for the cost of
lodging and food.
The Argentinians also felt that their players would get valuable
exposure by playing in a foreign league.
"Most of the top foreign players prefer to play in the Dutch and the
German leagues. The European market has been drawing the top players in
the world for many years and with proper planning, MHL can also reach that
status in a few years time," said Paramalingam.
But Tenaga have shown that a 100 per cent local formula can also work
wonders, so teams who cannot afford to hire foreigners should take a leaf
from the electric company's success.
And to have a larger pool of teams in the MHL, Paramalingam suggested
that States, who do not have hockey clubs, play under the state sports
council banner.
"The only way for players from Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah,
Sabah and Sarawak to get involved in the national league is to play under
the state sports council banner. There might be good players in the States
waiting to be discovered. But if they have no avenue to parade their
skills, they will remain in the shadows forever.
Paramalingam also suggested that MHF hold the JHL ahead of the MHL.
"This way, clubs scouting for young players will get a change to watch
them in action and select players for the MHL. This year, there are 21
teams taking part in the JHL and if it was held earlier that the MHL, I am
sure that the number of teams in the MHL will also increase because clubs
will find it easier to find players."
With more collective thinking and planning, the MHL will be a better
league.
(END)