Hockey Australia "has found a pragmatic solution" to its need for extra funding to underpin a Gold Medal-winning Olympic field hockey campaign for the world champion Kookaburras in Rio next year, according to Nicole Jeffery of THE AUSTRALIAN. A bilateral agreement signed with India on Saturday "will see the India men’s team play six Tests in Australia in each of the next three years," and Australia will release its entire 28-man national squad to play in the Hockey India League over the next three years. As in cricket, "the rupee has become the dominant currency in hockey due to the popularity of the sport in India." That is where the money is both for int'l players and TV rights, "which is why Hockey Australia wants a piece of it." The potentially controversial aspect of the agreement is that "almost all of Australia’s likely Olympic team will spend six weeks playing in India next January-February, just six months before the Rio Games." Traditionally, all players "must commit to a centralised program in Australia for the entire Olympic year." However, "that would require them sacrificing most of their playing income" next year. And Hockey Australia "cannot afford to compensate them for that loss." National coach Graham Reid believes that "the Indian deal is the best solution to ensure the players do not suffer financially and do get all the int'l competition they need to prepare for the Games. Reid said, “I think it’s a win-win. The two most important things for the team in terms of preparation are the daily training environment and international competition. ... For countries like Belgium or Germany, the average cost per international match is about a hundred dollars. For us it’s thousands, by virtue of where we live" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 2/23).
