KUALA LUMPUR: Australia's Northern Territory Stingers (NT Stingers) will be the star attraction in next year's Malaysian Hockey League (MHL).
The Darwin-based Australian club will compete in both the men's and women's competitions on Jan 4-Feb 22.
The men's Premier League has drawn 10 teams, while seven teams will battle for honours in the women's competition.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) competitions committee chairman Datuk Seri Dr Anil Sandhu confirmed that NT Stingers will make their debut alongside Malaysia's Matadors Hockey Club.
The Armed Forces are also making a comeback in the women's competition after a 10-year absence.
"The men's Premier and women's leagues will be played in a one round-robin format. Due to tight domestic and international fixtures, the competition will be completed within six weeks," said Anil.
He also revealed that the national juniors, who qualified for the 2025 Junior World Cup in India, will not play as a team in the league.
"The players will be released to their respective clubs for the MHL," he added.
The men's Premier League teams are Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Terengganu Hockey Team (THT), Maybank, Nurinsafi Sporting, UiTM HA-KPT, Armed Forces, TNB Thunderbolts, Liaoning HT (China), NT Stingers and Matadors Hockey Club.
The women's competition will feature Malaysian University, Blue Warriors, Negri Sembilan, Qnet Phoenix, Mutiara-MSSPP-PSHA-PKS-Uniten, Armed Forces, and NT Stingers.
Last year's men's Premier League and TNB Cup champions, TNB, will take on THT — runners-up in both competitions — in the men's Charity Shield on Jan 4.
Malaysian University will face Blue Warriors in the women's Charity Shield.
Anil added: "Each team can sign up to eight foreign players, with no restrictions on the number of national and import players on the field at any one time."
The fixtures will be announced on Dec 22, with matches to be held at six venues — the National Hockey Stadium (Bukit Jalil), KPM Hockey Stadium (Pantai), Tun Razak Stadium, Batu Buruk Hockey Stadium (Kuala Terengganu), Bertam Hockey Stadium (Penang) and Seremban 2 Hockey Stadium.