MHL - Well yet more extensions

The registration of players for the Malaysian Hockey League was set for July 16.

This was clearly spelt out in the calling of entries  which was sent out in June.

However expect this deadline to be extended when the managers meeting is held on Saturday at Bukit Jalil Stadium.

The complete lack of apathy to adhere to deadlines has been harvesting in competitions and this largely has to do with the fact that the parent body does not adhere to rules it sets up.

Then there is another issue - vested interest as all the 6 teams in the Premier League have a representative in the Competition Committee.

So it will be a case of you scratch my back and I scratch yours.

And that is why perhaps it will be wiser to do what FAM has done - get an Independant body to run competitions.

In Football the deadlines are strict and what more there cannot be any  short cuts as registration is done online.

So back to the MHL proper.

Teams like UniKL, Maybank have yet to sign any foreign player. 

And they are scampering to find quality players as most will be at the Olympics.

TNB is contemplating signing two foreign players but needs an extension. Again they face an issue as the better known playing countries are competing at Rio.

Sapura have signed on former New Zealand international Phillip Burrows and an Indian  Gauraj.

Defending champions Terengganu Hockey Team are set to register four Koreans, one Pakistani and one Argentinian, Jung, Irfan and Pablo respectively.

Three more Koreans will be named later. 

As for KL Hockey Club, they have two more spots vacant as they will register three Pakistanis and one Korean.

The Korean is Nam Hyun Woo while the Pakistanis are Abdul Haseem Khan, Ali Akhtar and Muhammad Umar Bhuta.

There is also another interesting factor - as to who two national players Meor Mohammad and Haziq Shamsul will play for.

The duo have contracts with UniKL till 2017 but quit the club after the national team returned from Japan last month.

They cited breach of contract by UniKL who claim otherwise.

Will this be cleared tomorrow or will the two players be forced to sit out of the MHL thus jeopardising their places in the national training squad.

The bottom line is rules are set for a reason and if rules can be broken or cast aside, then Hockey will not progress.

Not when vested interest is above everything else, who cares, be it old or new, nothing has changed.