The step, as the PHF officials have time and again stated, is supposed to put forward ‘a good picture of Pakistan’ as a ‘safe place for international teams and players’ to visit, but before we set ourselves into a praising mood, we need to ascertain if this visit will help ‘Pakistan hockey’ in the longer run — both words in focus and that too together.
The dismal state of the national game of Pakistan in the country of its origin is not a well-kept secret. Everyone knows how the ‘if you want to be a cricketer or a hockey player’ question is answered by a child who is supposed to carry the flag of the national game forward. So will this visit help develop a taste for hockey amongst the youth of our country?
However, even if we set this notion aside, will this tour be able to help the PHF fill its coffers, which have been empty for years now? No. Instead the security required to keep the international players safe and accommodate them will exceed the revenue generated, unless the PHF swings a magic wand and inspires the private sector to support the national game, which they have been unable to do for, again, years now.
Pakistanis are a welcoming nation. They will open their hearts to the World XI for an experience to remember, but the PHF needs to set its preferences right too. The World XI visit will bring hockey back to Pakistan or not is not the most important question for the PHF; will they be able to solve their structural and investment problems are.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2018.
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