Oh Is The Razak Cup On!

The 54th edition of the TNB-Tun Razak Cup commenced on Saturday.

A total of 16 teams in the men's and 14 in the women's categories will battle it out for supremacy.

Frankly I was not bothered about this tournament as it was being held just because it was on the MHC calendar.

No efforts were made to elevate this tournament to project its image of being a Premier Hockey tournament in the country.

Besides one Press Conference and a poorly written preview, nothing out of the ordinary was or is being done to Ensure there is interest both from teams as well as fans for a tournament that has ran for 54 years, surely that counts for something.

Yes there is full participation in the men's while in the women only two affiliates are missing.

I received several calls after the managers meeting, many riled up by the requirement of the Tournament  Director that teams  must have release letters for players born outside the state they are representing.

The teams were fuming, some even spoke about pulling out. I listened and agreed to their arguments, trying at the same time to understand that today common sense has no place in Hockey.

Yes there is the rule, yes the teams must provide release letters, yes this has been the case in the past, yes this is how things should be done.

But where was common sense?

A player who has represented a particular state for years now has to provide a release letter cos the TD wants t go by the book.

I always believe that rules should amd ought to be followed.

So let's have one standard eligibility rule for all tournaments from now on, that players can only play for the state they were born in, as practiced and preached in the Razak Cup.

This rule should apply to ALL competitions   and not just the Razak Cup.

And to those who threatened to pull out and all the crap, I know better then to write about your idle threats, you all just talk and do nothing else.

And talking about talk. I wish the MHC Media Committee will walk the walk and talk the talk.

No point having a website without having it updated with scores and results of your TOP Hockey event.

Might as well keep it dormant like half the committees are in MHC, nice in name and appearance and empty in delivery.