Wednesday, December 24, 2008

MHF turn down offer to host World Cup qualifiers

The Malaysia Hockey Federation (MHF) have declined the international federation’s (FIH) offer to host one of the World Cup qualifying tournaments in November because it is too costly to stage it.

A total of 18 teams will be involved in three qualifying tournaments and only the winners get places in the World Cup Finals. Eight teams gain direct entries from their continental championships while India are automatic qualifiers by virtue of being the hosts.

France will host the first qualifying tournament in Lille from Oct 24-Nov 1 and New Zealand will stage the second one in Auckland from Nov 7-15. The third qualifying tournament is likely to be held in an Asian country.

Malaysia are likely to play in the qualifiers unless they win the Asia Cup tournament, which will be held in Dubai from May 8-15.

The MHF deputy president, Nur Azmi Ahmad, said yesterday that it was not financially viable to host the qualifying tournament.

“We hosted the Champions Trophy last year and we are still saddled with debts. We want to be prudent and we feel that the national team can reach their target even if they have to play elsewhere,” he added.

Next year, Malaysia will jointly host the Junior World Cup Finals scheduled for June 7-21 together with Singapore. The matches will be played in Johor Baru.

In April, the annual Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament will be held in Ipoh.

“We have our hands full with several international tournaments. Our priority is to ensure that the national teams are well-prepared for the challenges,” said Nur Azmi.

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