PHF defends delay in naming foreign coach

LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has defended the delay in appointing a foreign coach and added that the Sports Ministry, who is to pay for the coach, has sought the contract and the MoA from the federation prior to the approval.

“The PHF had a positive meeting with the Federal Minister for Sports Ijaz Hussain Jhakrani to brief him on the hiring and the announcement will be made in next couple of days,” PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa told The Express Tribune.

The PHF has unveiled the team management for the senior team prior to the tour of China and Europe. Manzoor Junior has been appointed as team manager while Ahmad Alam and Ajmal Khan have been named assistant coaches and will work under the new coach.

The federation has decided to reward upcoming players by naming an under-16 team from the recently-concluded inter-academy tournament won by Lahore.

The team will visit several countries, in a programme yet to be confirmed, in order to gain experience. Saleem Sherwani was named as the manager and coach while Asif Khan, Tariq Sheikh and Khawar Javed were named as the assistant coaches.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2010.