‘Endowment Fund key to welfare of athletes’

LAHORE:Punjab Sports Department has always taken all possible measures for the welfare of top performing athletes across the province.

Punjab’s revolutionary SportsEndowment Fund of Rs 2 billion has been established for the welfare of deserving and top performing players. DG Youth Affairs and Sports Punjab Khizar Afzaal said this after witnessing trials of Punjab’s different teams at Nishtar Park Sports Complex.

He said keeping its tradition alive, Punjab Sports Department will honour the winners and prominent performers of Inter-Provincial Quaid-e-Azam Games which are scheduled to take place at Islamabad from December 13 to 19, 2024. "The sports stars who exhibited outstanding performances in theInter-Provincial Quaid-e-Azam Games will be extended all possible helped through Sports Endowment Fund", he said.

The athletics trials were held at Punjab Stadium, hockey at National Hockey Stadium Pitch-2, weightlifting at Coaching Centre and Kabaddi at Punjab College in which the players from all divisions of Punjab participated.

KhizarAfzaal said that he is personally supervising hockey, kabaddi, athletics, weightlifting and other trials. "The Punjab squad will consist of the best players and we are quite upbeat that these athletes will produce wonderful results in the mega event".He further said that our aim is to make players economically stabilized so that they can win laurels for the country at the national and international level.

He further said that Sports Board Punjab will organise multiple sports competitions across the province throughout the year with this fund. “And ultimately, the talented players will get sufficient playing opportunities through these sports competitions to polish sports skills. Not only this but the top position holders and other prominent performers will also be given handsome cash prizes,” he added.

He informed that the training and coaching camps of different games will also be conducted using money from the Sports Endowment Fund. “Through this fund, now our players who have limited resources will be able to participate in national and international sports competitions without any hurdle,” he asserted.