Hockey: Players should not be out of pocket says Patel

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Players selected in the New Zealand men's hockey team should not have to dip into their own pockets to get to the World Cup qualifying tournament in Scotland, says hockey chief Ramesh Patel.

New Zealand Hockey bosses estimate costs of about $130,000 to play in July's 16-team tournament as replacements for cash-strapped Zimbabwe, but are confident the money will come from the Sports Foundation and other funding sources.

Players in the New Zealand under-21 women's team who played in last month's junior World Cup had to find $1500 each after the late acceptance of the invitation to play in Argentina.

"But we hope that will not be the case this time," Patel, the NZ Hockey Federation chief executive, said yesterday.

"We have a policy of not asking our senior representatives to pay. We will be talking to the funding people and see what can be done.

"The problem could get bigger if we qualify for the World Cup because that falls in the same funding year."

Coach Kevin Towns said he would not necessarily look only at the players named for the June 16-23 series against India - a squad to be captained by his son, Simon - when naming the 16 for the qualifying tournament in Edinburgh.

"We have got all the tapes from the matches we've had against Malaysia and Australia, and we'll have another look at those, as well as taking the Indian games into account," Towns said.

"This is a fantastic opportunity and while I'm sure there might be a couple of players who have some issues in getting time off, I know we will have our best possible team.

"We are not going there to make up the numbers. We, and particularly the players, have done a lot of talking since missing out on the Olympics and the World Cup qualifying tournament. Now we have the chance to front up."

When the men were out of World Cup contention, the federation sought extra matches - specifically the series against Malaysia - and diverted funds there.

Now those, and other internationals, have given the team a world-class build-up - and with it the chance of not only getting to the World Cup but perhaps the 2004 Olympics as well.

The federation has yet to learn who their opponents in Edinburgh will be.

If they simply take Zimbabwe's place in pool D, they will meet Canada, Poland and Russia. The top two will go on to post-section place and a shot at qualifying for the World Cup.

But some think that there might be a complete redraw.