KARACHI: President International Hockey Federation (FIH) Leandro Negre and CEO Kelly Fairweather have assured Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) their full support in reviving international hockey in Pakistan. Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Friday, Leandro Negre said that the development of hockey in Pakistan was necessary to promote world hockey. “FIH and Continental Hockey Federation (CHF) will work together to devise an effective strategy to convince foreign teams to visit Pakistan or play at a neutral venue,” he said. He said that the PHF officials had informed him about the Punjab government’s financial support for hockey in the past and hoped that it would continue to support the development and promotion of Pakistan’s national game. “For the revival of international hockey in Pakistan, Asian countries will be invited here with the support of Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) in the first phase,” he said. “European countries will also be invited and they will be given an option to play at a neutral venue,” he added. He said that the FIH had provided PHF with synthetic turf to introduce ‘Hockey 5’ series in schools. In ‘Hockey 5’ series, each team will consist of five players. The FIH officials also promised that Pakistanis would be invited to the umpiring courses, technical delegates’ programmes, training workshops for coaches and other technical assistance programmes. Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif promised on the occasion that his government would provide every possible support for the progress of hockey. “I have assured the FIH delegation that the foreign teams visiting Pakistan will be provided with foolproof security,” he said. PHF president Khalid Khokhar informed the CM that the federation had chalked out a comprehensive plan with the help of IHF and AHF for the rejuvenation of hockey. “The junior hockey team’s qualification for the World Cup reflected PHF’s effective planning despite scarcity of funds,” he said. Also present on the occasion were CEO Asian Hockey Federation Tayyab Ikram and PHF secretary Shahbaz Ahmed.
