THE National Hockey Development Programme (NHDP) is expected to start next month.
Modelled after the 1Mas Development Programme, which was discontinued in 2018, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) believe the NHDP will produce results.
MHC development committee, chaired by Datuk S. Shamala, have selected 74 centres for boys and 20 centres for girls in 13 states for the programme.
NHDP was initiated following a coaching clinic for Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16 players in August 2019, but it did not take off due to delays, caused mainly by Covid-19.
"We will start the NHDP next month. We do not want to sit and wait for Covid-19 to disappear.
"If the fields in Malaysia are still off-limits next month, the NHDP will hold online sessions," said Shamala after a meeting with the National Sports Council and the Education Ministry yesterday.
Three sports schools — the Bukit Jalil Sports School, the Bandar Penawar Sports School and the Setapak High School — will be part of the programme.
Balls, hockey sticks, goalkeepers pads and safety equipment have also been ordered from several agents to ensure they are of the best quality.
"We will start distributing hockey equipment to our centres soon. We have appointed a few agents to make sure we get value for money," she added.