• Lanka to play in 4th consecutive World Masters
• SLMNHA Prez wants strategic rethink from powers that be

Sri Lanka Masters National Hockey Association (SLMNHA) President Fouzul Hameed – a prominent businessman of an integrated retail and apparel group and a noted sports critic – bemoaned the current plight of hockey in the country at a recent press conference.

He stated that hockey in particular, which he had played in the past and loved, had not reached its desired destination in comparison with other marquee games in Sri Lanka such as cricket and rugby.

“It’s so sad that it is in this current state,” Hameed told a media briefing convened at the Gymkhana Club in Colombo on Wednesday (15).

The briefing was connected to the participation of three Sri Lanka Masters Hockey Teams, who are due to take part in the World Masters Hockey World Cup 2026 scheduled to be staged in Belgium and the Netherlands from 22 July to 1 August.

“I know that it is not so easy to upgrade hockey grounds nowadays. The sport continues to face challenges, including limited infrastructure with only two AstroTurf hockey facilities available in Colombo and Matale. Back in those days, we played on grass courts. Yet it is the duty of the government of the day to support this great game,” he added.

Hameed observed that, in the present landscape, finances were a prerequisite for any sport to make headway both locally and overseas.

He stated that the forthcoming tour by the national team would further broaden the horizons for local hockey players in the country and urged the media to support such endeavours if Sri Lanka intends to make its presence felt in the sport.

The SLMNHA President was of the opinion that the Sri Lanka Hockey Federation, for its part, should throw in its lot with his own association if the profile of the game in the country was to be further enhanced. However, he seemed unconvinced that it would see a drastic change on that front anytime soon.

“I feel we need to rethink the strategy for hockey in Sri Lanka,” he said. “Unless this is done earnestly, this game will die a natural death,” the former Zahirian noted. “The game has to go on and we must think of its future.”

Hameed also criticised the failure of the current Sports Ministry to grasp the importance of promoting a sport such as hockey as opposed to games such as rugby, cricket, and football.

He added that critical factors such as mileage, media, crowds, and sponsors had never been found wanting for rugby, but questioned whether hockey too could lay claim to similar factors in Sri Lanka’s current sporting outlook.

The businessman also expressed his belief that hockey was one sport which the island nation would be able to challenge consistently for honours on the international stage should the sport be placed on the correct professional strategic path “with the proper marketing drive”.

The 2026 edition of the World Masters Hockey World Cup is set to feature over 3,600 athletes from leading hockey-playing nations along with over 10,000 family members, supporters, officials, and fans, making it one of the biggest masters sporting events in the world.

The tournament will also mark Sri Lanka’s fourth consecutive participation in the event following previous appearances in Barcelona, Spain (2018); Nottingham, UK (2022); and Auckland, New Zealand (2024).

It was also revealed that for the first time in history, Sri Lanka would field three Men’s National Masters Teams in the Over 35, Over 40, and Over 50 categories.

These teams are set to compete against some of the world’s formidable hockey nations, including Australia, England, Germany, Belgium, Spain, India, South Africa, France, Scotland, Wales, Chile, and Argentina.