ORANG Kampung Group Sdn Bhd (OK Group) is the latest corporation to join the growing list of sponsorship partners for the Junior Hockey World Cup held from December 5-16 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The manufacturer of herbal product energy drink, namely ‘Long Qi’ which translates to mean longevity health, has more than 30 years’ experience in research and development.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) President Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal and Orang Kampung Group Sdn Bhd Sales Manager Mohamad Faisal Mohd Hassan exchanged the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) documents at the MHC office located at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on today.
The Orang Kampung Group sponsorship is worth RM300,000 in cash and kind. The event was witnessed by JWC 2023 Events Manager Brian Fernandez and MHC Chief Executive Officer Nishel Kumar.
Subahan said the ‘Long Qi’ herbal drink is rich in vitamins and is the official drink of the Junior World Cup.
Tenaga Nasional Berhad had on Wednesday presented a mock cheque worth RM1 million towards the Junior World Cup, while 99 Speed Mart Sdn Bhd, which owns and operates a chain of supermarkets, had earlier presented a mock cheque for RM1.2 million.
“We need RM3.5 million to organise the Junior World Cup and we appreciate more sponsors coming on board to help us,” added Subahan.
“It’s not cheap to host the JWC as we paid RM1.6 million as hosting fee to the FIH (International Hockey Federation), and there are many other expenditures as well to get the tournament off the ground.
The opening ceremony on Dec 5 will be held before the Malaysia-Chile match, and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has agreed to grace the occasion.
“In due time, we will request the FIH to reduce its hosting fees as Malaysia has beautiful venues and is ready to play host again. On the planning plate is the 2025 Indoor World Cup, which we plan to host as our indoor teams have great potential,” said Subahan.
“Peugeot Malaysia has offered an additional 10 cars (5008 model) to the four provided earlier, bringing the total to 14 cars for the JWC,” said Subahan, thanking the management for the kind gesture.
“The reason why we are working with Orang Kampung Group Sdn Bhd is that we are in partnership with various types of sponsors. I want to focus on commercialising Malaysian hockey. We are also very thankful to the government for the financial assistance given,” he said.
“But compared to the amount we received in previous years and now the difference is quite significant now. We understand the situation faced by the government and appreciative of the help we have received.”
He added that national sports associations should not always be dependent on government funding.
“On our part, we need more funds to support our hockey teams. Coaches don’t come cheap. It is not that they are very demanding. It is the way forward. Even our local coaches are requesting that we engage physiotherapists, physical trainers, and other professionals in the setup.”
The entire structure, he said, needed reforms to enable our athletes to perform at the highest level with the latest technology facilities.
Subahan pointed out why India has reached a certain level in hockey.
He then explained that India has a talented pool of players and all the funding that they can get. The Indian national team receives good funding, and they spend up to RM 50 million on the team.
“That was like a couple of years ago. You can see in every sport India is excelling because funds are not an issue. In Malaysia, the biggest issue is funding, and sports bodies have to look for the funds. Sponsorship is also very limited.
“We are blessed that companies like Speed Mart have reached out to help us. They themselves came forward because coincidentally the national juniors are called Speedy Tigers.,” he said with a wry smile.
He said MHC had sought approval from the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) to register its sports retail outlet named Speedy Tigers Sdn Bhd to be located at ground floor of the National Hockey Stadium.
“SSM gave us approval. We need to think outside the box on how to commercialise MHC. While we are receiving support from TNB and other sponsors, we also need to consider how we can generate income rather than depending on sponsors and government funding.
“This will be used as a commercial entity. We do not have the ability to bring in goods, but we will stock up on our national team jerseys, hockey sticks, and other sports paraphernalia to start,” disclosed Subahan.
