Local federations still awaiting grants

Bodies face financial crisis due to a 5-month delay in funds.

KARACHI:

Sports federations in Pakistan have complained that they are still waiting to receive their grants from the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) and the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) despite getting the approval five months ago.

Officials from the sports bodies also stated that most of their plans have stalled as they are yet to receive their quarterly grants. The approval for these grants was given in July.

“No federation has been given their quarterly grants after several months which is making it difficult for us to implement our plans,” a federation official told The Express Tribune, before adding that the only reason federations have remained quiet over the issue is because they believe the IPC is doing a good job in trying to implement the National Sports Policy across the board.

Federations have also come under growing pressure from the IPC to replace officials who have served for two consecutive four-year terms. This has created a rift between the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and the PSB but nothing substantial has happened yet.

The official commended the IPC’s decision of replacing old officials and added that the federations appreciate their stance on the policy. However, he said that they were now running out of patience on the grant issue and wanted a quick solution.

“We really appreciate how the IPC is trying its best to end the role of officials who have become mafias. But we have our own compulsions to promote the various sports disciplines as well which are hard to neglect.”

Meanwhile, another federation’s official said that they have been trying to meet the IPC Federal Minister, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, to talk about the issue but have not been able to do so yet. He stressed that Bijarani should call a meeting where he should assure that they will receive their grants.

Meanwhile, it has also been learnt that IPC’s financial committee will be having a meeting soon to discuss on the issue, while some federations are yet to submit their audit report which is also contributing to the delay.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2012.