MHF plan to set up single league structure

The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) competitions committee will begin the process of merging the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) with the Junior league for next year today.

The proposal to create a single league structure in Malaysian hockey will mean that the junior and senior leagues will be run simultaneously and over a longer period of time.

All the state competitions secretaries will attend the meeting and a time limit is expected to be set to move their proposal forward.

States are expected to provide the feedback on the move and also to gauge their respective affiliates’ reaction to the merger.

With the MHL ending today the competitions committee want to start the next league in February. However, the committee should consider the fact of rushing to make the move without taking into consideration the implication of a single league.

Most of the teams in the MHL and the Junior League are basically Klang Valley teams. Thus creating a single league would mean nothing if the other states do not put up a team.

For example, in Division One of the MHL, Nur Insafi from Penang, are the only non-Klang Valley team. And in Division Two four teams are from outside the Klang Valley. To have a truly national league the committee must look at ensuring greater participation from the states.

The idea of a single league has received the thumbs up from the MHL clubs and this will help the committee to forge ahead smoothly.

The issue of junior players being deprived of playing in the senior league also does not hold water as only 21 players were in the Under-19 age category in Division One. And 15 of them played for the national juniors in Division One.

In Division Two, 64 players were in the Under-19 age category with 22 from the Bandar Penawar Sports School and 21 from Bukit Jalil Sports School. These teams however will play at the junior level which means they may be playing in Division Three or Four of the proposed new league. The other categories in the new league will mostly likely be called Premier, Division One and Division Two.

As the committee mull over the proposal they must also give thought to their calendar for next year as the national team and the national juniors have their plate full in the first six months.