“I left the Hong Kong league half way through and that cost me around Rs2 million, and if the government doesn’t pay attention to the national game then I would suggest that they just wrap up the sport in the country,” said team captain Muhammad Imran, during the selection trials for the Champions Trophy.
Imran added that his family keeps on asking him to leave hockey and join some other profession to earn money. Other senior players, who were called from international leagues after clinching the silver medal at the Asian Games, seconded their captain’s opinion.
Pakistan goalkeeper Imran Butt, who was not issued an NOC for the Malaysian league by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) due to the clash in dates of the league and the Champions Trophy, says he had to bear the loss for the sake of his country’s national sport.
Butt, who has 84 international caps to his name, said he left a contract worth Rs2 million just to play for his country and to attract its people back to the game. “But if the government keeps on neglecting this sport, I am really sorry to say but I won’t play anymore,” he warned, while talking to The Express Tribune. “Cricketers at zonal levels make more than us, we have not been given central contracts since the last Olympics. What will attract young players towards hockey? The government has to support the players in this effort.”
Olympian Hassan Sardar, who joined the domestic hockey circuit after leaving his university in the second year said, “I left my university and I had my parents’ support at the time as I was hired by a department. However, the biggest loss for hockey in Pakistan has been the closing down of clubs and departments, due to which a player’s future is never secure.”
Sardar, just like Butt and Imran blamed the government for not paying the players. “The players have all the right to protest against the government for not receiving central contracts,” he said. “I request the government to play their part for the revival of hockey and provide incentives to the players.”
Meanwhile, the International Hockey Federation has proposed a programme and submitted a summary to PHF which states that the Pakistani federation needs a grant of Rs500 million to bring hockey in the country back on track, claimed PHF secretary Rana Mujahid.
He further added that the programme strictly asks for the relaunching of departments and clubs all over Pakistan, and promote the game from a grass-roots level.
In addition, to counter the shortage of funds, the PHF has also decided to make UAE the venue for Pakistan’s home series. “Pakistan is not able to host matches due to security concerns, so we will hold our home series in the UAE to generate funds.”
However, to stop players from leaving the national sport, on the request of coach Shahnaz Sheikh, the PHF has announced to take all the players on Umrah after they return from the Champions Trophy and has also promised the players to keep their plight the first priority at the meeting with the Prime Minster on November 19.
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