It had been reported that both the men’s and women’s squads of 25 were asked to individually seek out NZD$12,000 (£5,800/$8,300/€7,300) funding packages ahead of the Olympic Games in August. 

If successful, the appeal would have raised NZD$600,000 (£291,100/$414,200/€363,500), providing additional support for the players at their 12-week camp in Auckland prior to Games.

They were initially given until the end of January to find sponsorship before the deadline was extended to the end of February.

Hockey New Zealand interim chief executive Ian Francis, however, has brought an end to the plan having stepped into the role following the resignation of Malcolm Harris in December.

"We wanted our athletes preparing and focusing on winning medals [at Rio]," he told Stuff.co.nz. 

"That needs to be their sole focus and we didn't want the distraction of them going out having to seek funding as well as competing, performing and training to the best of their ability."

Francis said there had been a "mixed" reaction from the players after they were asked to find their own funding.

"Some players were successful in being able to [get] some personal sponsorship out of it as well so in that sense it was good, but generally players, and we believe the same thing, should just be focused on their performances and actually training and preparing," he added.

Harris, defended the sponsorship initiative he oversaw, saying: "You're travelling around the world three or four times a year.

"It's a big hit on your budget, so we've got to look at all avenues and financial opportunities and if the players can contribute through their networks we thought that was a reasonable idea."

Businessman Sir Owen Glenn, who has contributed considerable sums to hockey in New Zealand, claimed it was a "disgrace" the country did not properly fund its Olympic teams.

"The bottom line is the Government doesn't support them," he said.

"Their excuse is, if you do it for hockey you've got to do it for rugby, soccer, but if you want to compete at the Olympics, we have to fund it."

The revelation comes after Sport New Zealand, the Government body responsible for community sport and recreation in New Zealand, disclosed a NZD$4 million (£1.9 million/$2.8 million/€2.4 million) cut to its lottery grants.

New Zealand’s sole Olympic field hockey medal came at Montreal in 1976, where they beat rivals Australia 1-0 in the final to top the podium. 

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the triumph, the gold medal-winning team met at Christchurch's Transitional Cathedral last night.

All members of the team - except for Paul Ackerley who died in 2011 - were present to mark the launch of a new book entitled Striking Gold - New Zealand hockey's remarkable victory at the 1976 Olympics.

"They were a great group; really easy to look after," the team’s coach Ross Gillespie, who is now 80-years-old, said.

"There's a lot of talk about culture now, but we certainly had a culture before it was even talked about.

"It just grew out of people knowing everyone so well over a five-year period."