Australia’s Northern Territory Stingers (NT Stingers) men’s and women’s teams, Matador Hockey Club and the Malaysian Armed Forces women’s team will make their appearances in the 2025 TNB Malaysian Hockey League.
The 2025 TNBMHL will kick off on January 4 until February 22. It will involve 10 teams in the Men’s Premier League and seven in the Women’s League.
A total of 78 matches will be played during the league.
Announcing the 2025 TNBMHL structure in a press conference, Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Vice President and Competitions Committee Chairman Datuk Seri Dr. Anil Sandhu said NT Stingers (men and women’s teams) that is based in Darwin, Northern Territory will make their debut alongside Malaysia’s Matadors HC while the Armed Forces women’s team are making a return after a 10-year absence.
“The ATM women’s team previously competed as ATM Pernama. They last featured in the tournament in 2016. The Men’s Premier and Women’s League will be played in a one round-robin format. Due to the tight domestic and international fixtures, the TNBMHL will be spread over a one-and-a-half-month period,” added Anil.
He also disclosed that the national juniors who qualified for the 2025 Junior World Cup in India, will not play as a unit in the TNBMHL but instead the players have been absorbed by different teams.
The teams competing in the Men’s Premier League are Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Terengganu Hockey Team (THT), Maybank, Nurinsafi Sporting, UiTM HA-KPT, Armed Forces, TNB Thunderbolts, Liaoning HT (China), Matador HC, and Northern Territory Stingers.
In the women’s league, the teams involved are Malaysian University, Blue Warriors (PDRM), Negeri Sembilan, Qnet Phoniex, Mutiara-MSSPP-PSHA-PKS-Uniten, Armed Forces, and Northern Territory Stingers.
The men’s Charity Shield match will be between TNB (League and TNB Cup champions) and THT (Runners-up in League and TNB Cup).
Malaysian University (League champions and runners-up Vivian May Soars Cup) will face off Blue Warriors (Third in League and runners-up Vivian May Soars Cup) in the women’s Charity Shield match. Both matches will be played on the tournament’s opening day, January 4.
“Each team is allowed to register eight foreign or imported players (an increase from six last year) while there is no restriction on the number of Malaysian national team players registered,” added Anil.
“However, should two local teams play each other in a match, the rules stipulate that only six players (a combination of national and foreign) are allowed to take to the field at any one time.
“But this rule does not apply when local and foreign teams are scheduled to play each other. There is no restriction on the number of national and foreign players on the field at any one time,” he added.
The fixtures for the TNBMHL will be released on December 22.
The 2025 TNBMHL season matches will be spread across six venues – National Hockey Stadium, Bukit Jalil, KPM Hockey Stadium (Pantai), Tun Razak Stadium, Batu Buruk Hockey Stadium (Terengganu), Bertam Hockey Stadium (Penang), and Seremban 2 Hockey Stadium.