Receiving funds: Finally a ray of hope for beleaguered hockey

National sport’s body to receive Rs350 million within two days with PM’s blessing

KARACHI: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) finally has some hope of restoring the national game to its former glory as according to PHF President Chaudhry Akhtar Rasool, Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif has agreed to give a grant of Rs350 million to the national body.

The official met the PM, who is also the patron-in-chief of hockey, after Tuesday’s joint session at the Parliament House.

“We discussed the issues being faced by the PHF and hockey players,” Rasool told The Express Tribune, adding that the meeting was highly productive as the PM listened him in detail.

“I requested a grant of Rs500 million, but Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Riaz Hussain Pirzada has sanctioned Rs350 million for which the PM gave a positive response and promised to release the amount within two days,” he said.

Rasool believes that the PM is a big supporter of sports and can help revive the national game of Pakistan. “I have informed him about the PHF’s development plans for both junior and senior teams including major international events in which both sides will be participating this year,” he said.

The international events include the Four-Nation tournament in Australia, a bilateral series with hosts South Korea and the 2016 Rio Olympic qualifiers for the senior team, while the junior events include a tour of Europe.

Elaborating on the details of the funds received from the federal government, the president said, “We didn’t receive any grant from the federal government since taking over in April 2014; all the funds were received by the former management.”

He further said that they will soon award central contracts to players, coaches and selectors, and will clear all their outstanding dues as well.

“I’m quite sure that the special grant will end all the immediate problems and the players’ performances on and off the field will improve noticeably,” said Rasool.

Tireless efforts bear fruit

The subject meeting with the PM had been postponed four times.

It was first scheduled to take place after they won a silver medal in the 2014 Asian Games and March 3 was the last new date, which was delayed for one-and-a-half months. The result was an impromptu meeting just between the PHF president and the PM, while originally the whole team and management were due to meet the patron-in-chief.

The players have not received their designated prize money for their gold medal in the 2012 Asian Champions Trophy and two recent silver medals at the 2014 Asian Games and Champions Trophy as per the National Sports Policy of Pakistan.

On the other hand, Olympians are unhappy with the performance of the new management with Samiullah Khan saying, “The new management has been facing financial issues since the beginning of their appointment and are still unable to generate revenue after a year.

“The federation should look towards some alternative ways to earn money, such as attracting sponsors and getting players to appear in advertisements,” he said.

 

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