When I asked the federal minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Riaz Hussain Pirzada last month about the government’s plan to clear the sports mess ahead of the elections of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) early next year, he seemed totally disappointed.
Instead of disclosing the government’s plan on how to remove the mess, Pirzada said that there was no government-backed association or federation and the government had made commitment with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that it would accept only those federations which were affiliated with their respective international federations.
He criticised provinces for inactivity, especially after the devolution. The minister stressed that it was the responsibility of the provinces now to focus on building infrastructure and systematic training of players.
I agree with the minister as far as the responsibility and role of provinces after devolution is concerned. But there are several sports bodies working in the country in the form of parallel federations, provincial Olympic associations and even some illegal Olympic associations at the city level.
It is the responsibility of the IPC ministry to issue an order that such and such sports bodies are legal while the rest are illegal. And if any illegal body is found challenging the genuine body strict action should be taken against it.
Without wiping out the mess it would be futile to go for POA’s elections which are due by February 2016. The two warring generals, the POA chief Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan and Maj Gen (retd) Akram Sahi of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) should end their differences and work jointly for the promotion of sports.
After Pakistan failed to qualify for Rio Olympics in hockey, we can say that the country’s sports have touched the lowest ebb. Only a consensus among all the stakeholders and their coordinated effort could help in the revival of Pakistan’s sports.
Besides the hundred percent effort from the federations, the role of POA and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) will be of immense importance in future.
It is not yet known who will be the next POA’s president but there are chances that Arif will go for a fourth successive tenure as POA chief after his current four-year term was marred by the internal feuds.
The new POA chief will have to work tirelessly to bring Pakistan’s sports out of the crises they have been facing. But POA itself can do little unless it is backed by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). Both have to work together for sports promotion. For the last several years these bodies had been working against each other and this was the major reason of the downfall of the country’s sports.
Instead of relying on the old horses, young and honest people should be brought to the federations and associations so that they could work efficiently and effectively.
The federations should generate their own resources instead of completely relying on the government’s grants.
The POA will have to give a more viable plan to the government which may lift the country’s sports. Pakistan needs a long-term plan for sports promotion. Corruption should be strongly checked in all bodies. Both POA and PSB should have proper goals.
Currently, it seems that there is no one who runs sports in Pakistan. The sports live like an orphan.
If the government wants to bring Pakistan’s sports back on the right track, it will have to restructure PSB. It needs skilled hands who could run it effectively. The PSB needs people like former Director General Brig Arif Siddiqui.
Sending teams to foreign countries and organising tournaments is not the job of PSB. It should rather focus on building and maintaining sports facilities so that the players could be trained effectively for international competitions.
Pakistan Sports Complex, Islamabad, should be transformed into a centre for international competitions.
The PSB should fully support the players. It did not back boxer Mohammad Waseem who had the chance to qualify for Rio Olympics. Nor is it supporting Japan-based judoka Shah Hussain in his bid to make it to Rio.
The government needs to take sports as an industry and work for its promotion on emergency basis. Highly qualified foreign coaches should be hired. For the last few years, we haven’t seen any foreign coach except in judo. The national athletes in every discipline need extensive foreign tours and exposure on systematic basis which is the only way to prepare them for future challenges.
The government must set its priorities and make it clear on which sports it will mainly focus.
In order to broaden the base, sports in educational institutions should be revived and developed. In the past most of the talent used to come from educational institutions.
In order to prepare a comprehensive plan for sports development, PSB and POA should jointly host a sports convention in Islamabad to which all the stakeholders, people from corporate sector and sports journalists should be invited and a lengthy debate should be held on how sports can be developed in Pakistan.
Foreign diplomats in Pakistan and Pakistani diplomats in foreign countries should also be engaged in sports development. It is the right time to set a goal and revive our sports.