Hockey: Disbanding national academies to be harmful says former coach

Olympian Alam criticises hockey federation’s plans of district-level institutes.

LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation’s (PHF) decision to close down the two national academies operating in Lahore and Karachi and instead aiming to replace them with training centres in each of the 110 districts has come under fire from various quarters.

The federation’s ambitious plan has so far seen only 14 such academies becoming operational since the move was approved nearly two years ago.

At the time of the national academies’ closure, they housed 80 under-16 players from all over the country. Besides being responsible for training, the academies also provided schooling for players.

In comparison, the 14 academies that are functional now do not provide education to its trainees. In addition, the plan of expanding these academies to all 110 districts of the country has been put on hold.

Several former players have criticised the PHF for disbanding the academies. Naveed Alam, who served as national team coach, believes the move has harmed Pakistan hockey.

“The national academies were working for the benefit of Pakistan hockey,” Alam told The Express Tribune. “They were not only providing training to youngsters but were also giving them quality education.

“There were plans to increase the number of players housed in the academies from 80 to 1,000, so that other age-groups could also be accommodated but those plans have been fruitless.” However, PHF Academies Coordinator Rana Mujahid defended the decision of introducing district academies, insisting it is a better structure.

“We are training the young players closer
to their homes,” he said. “It’s a community-based
academies’ concept, which is new to Pakistan. However, I don’t think we need academies in all districts. My vision is to establish 50 academies in the country,” added Mujahid.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th,  2011.