PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) will require an annual budget of RM14 million starting next year to prepare its national teams for international competitions.
The funds are needed to support the men's and women's field and indoor hockey teams, as well as the Hockey5s squads.
However, MHC faces a significant shortfall, as the National Sports Council (NSC) has approved only RM4 million in funding.
In addition, MHC will receive RM4 million from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and smaller contributions from sponsors including QNet, Bank Islam and 99 Speedmart.
"The NSC funding does not cover the indoor and Hockey5s squads. We will need to find additional sponsors," said MHC deputy president Datuk Ahmad Najmi Abdul Razak after the confederation's annual general meeting here today.
"We also need a budget to prepare our men's indoor team, including friendly matches, for the World Cup in Croatia in February.
"Overall, we must raise about RM6 million to carry out all planned activities next year," Najmi added.
MHC reportedly spent RM14 million this year, which included organising domestic competitions, training programmes and international exposure for national teams.
Najmi is also concerned about the disruptions at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil, the confederation's main training centre, which will host 26 concerts next year.
"We are worried that the stadium turf will be damaged due to these events," said Najmi.
The stadium is managed by the Malaysian Stadium Corporation.
On the national team's preparation, Najmi revealed that men's coach Sarjit Singh has yet to submit a programme for 2024.
"We will only approve overseas training and competition plans based on our budget," said Najmi.
The Speedy Tigers' main goal for next year is to win the Asia Cup in India, which would secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Najmi noted that the women's national team met their key performance indicators (KPI) by finishing fourth at last month's Asian Champions Trophy in India.
Similarly, the men's junior team also achieved their KPI, finishing fourth at the Junior Asia Cup in Muscat, Oman and qualifying for the 2025 Junior World Cup in India.