The 44th annual Mercantile Hockey Association (MHA) seven-a-side tournament will be held on 4 December (Sunday) at the P Sara Stadium ‘Oval’ in Colombo. A total of 22 teams will compete under six divisions. MHA will also celebrate its milestone 70th year this year. Matches will commence at 8.00 a.m. with the semi-finals to be held from 3.30 p.m. onwards. The final will be held at 4.30 p.m. Nippon Paints are the Main sponsor, while Browns PLC, Hilton and Baraka Joint Ease Spray are the co-sponsors.

The teams vying for honours are:

A div – Dennis De Rosayro Janashakthi Trophy Commercial Bank

A; Hatton National Bank A; MAS Holdings; Sampath Bank

B div – Singer Trophy Allianz INC; Commercial Bank B; Hayleys Group; HSBC

C div – Lifebuoy Trophy Browns A; John Keells Group; Singer SL;

D div – Edmond J. Cooray Trophy Nations Trust Bank; Seylan Bank,

E Div – Ceylon Cold Stores Trophy Ceylon Tobacco Company; DPMC; Orient Finance;

F div – MHA President’s Trophy Browns B; Hayleys Group B; John Keells Group B; MAS Group B; Sampath Bank

This year a higher membership participation has been observed, with some corporates fielding two teams. Six trophies are on offer, with runners up trophies presented for the first time, along with medals and replicas.