PHF asks AHF to assure teams travel to Pakistan

Secretary Shahbaz offers to change event dates to facilities visiting nations

KARACHI: Host of the upcoming six-nation hockey tournament, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), is optimistic for the teams to visit the country and have also written a letter to the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) seeking their assistance.

The national game of Pakistan is set on its path of revival of international competitions in the country as they will be hosting five other nations at the end of this month.

The hockey federation has invited Sri Lanka, Oman, Qatar, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan, out of which the three teams have refused to participate citing financial crisis and busy schedules.

Following this, the PHF has written a letter to the AHF and asked them to convince all six teams to come and play in Pakistan.

The secretary of the PHF, Shahbaz Ahmed Senior, told The Express Tribune that they are optimistic that the teams will travel to Pakistan. “We have stated all the facts and all the security measures in the letter. We have told them about the security preparations that will be in place during the tournament and also gave them reference to the previously held international matches in Pakistan,” he said.

PHF hosted a World XI team in Karachi and Lahore after which they invited eleven goalkeepers to participate in the nine-a-side tournament. “We have organised the tournaments successfully and are ready to host again with the help of the Pakistan Army. The security is perfect and we are ready,” he said.

He further revealed that if the teams have their national and international commitments then the dates of the tournament can be shifted to when all teams are available. “The AHF has supported us before and they will do it now to make this tournament a success in Pakistan,” he said.

He added that the tournament will not only help the national team in preparing for the World Cup, but will also revive the interest of the game among youngsters.

“This is our national game and we are on a journey towards the revival of this game in the country and we will be putting in our maximum efforts to do this. As the team will start winning international tournaments, the interest in the young generation will increase,” he added.