Hockey housing fiasco

The outrageous mismanagement of the national hockey team's accommodations for the FIH Pro League in Australia has made a strong case for a criminal investigation of what the entire Pakistan Hockey Federation has been doing with taxpayer money. To recall, the clownshow in Hobart started with players waiting 13 hours at Sydney airport for their connecting flight to Hobart, almost certainly because a PHF official had bought the cheapest possible flight rather than several slightly more expensive options with shorter transit times.

Upon arrival, the team found that their four-star hotel bookings had been cancelled because PHF officials had not paid the required deposit. The team was eventually moved into an Airbnb for 10 days of their 13-day stay, and later moved to a cabin 90 minutes from the venue, where four to five players shared a room, and had to do the housekeeping instead of focusing on their actual jobs.

And while this fiasco was unfolding, PHF President Tariq Hussain Bugti, a political appointee with zero hockey pedigree, was silent - until the camera crews appeared. Then, he began defending himself with his best impression of a gravedigger. First, he blamed the Pakistan Sports Board. When the Board provided proof that it had paid PHF over 10 million rupees for four-star accommodation and other expenses, he responded by saying that handling bookings was not PHF's job. This insultingly bad answer can be countered with the question: if this were the case, why did PHF accept the money?

The uproar has, however, forced Bugti to resign. And with a parliamentary inquiry on the issue looming, he insists that the accommodation fiasco was not entirely his fault. If that is so, what about the team's poor performance in Pro League where not a single game could be won?

It is also worth noting that PHF officials, and even federal minister Rana Sanaullah, who has been outspoken on the issue, said the players should not have complained because it makes Pakistan look bad. This is akin to saying that Pakistan's problem is not terrorism, but reporting about terrorism. Sanaullah and others should fix the problem instead of shooting the messenger.