Hockey players’ dailies issue remains unresolved

ISLAMABAD: The issue of unpaid daily allowances to Pakistan’s national hockey players during their just-concluded tour to Malaysia has taken a new twist, as ‘The News’ has learnt that senior officials at the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) had allegedly made a verbal commitment to share the financial burden of the tour -- a promise that now appears to be in dispute.

According to well-placed sources within the national team, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) was given informal assurances during the training camp held at Islamabad’s Bunda Ground. The promise was that the PSB would cover either the players’ daily allowances or their accommodation, while the federation would handle the remaining expenses.

“We were assured that the matter of players’ dailies would be resolved before our departure for the Nations Cup,” a senior squad member told The News. “We were told that both the PSB and PHF would manage it jointly.”

What followed, however, painted a different picture. When the team landed in Kuala Lumpur, a week before the Nations Cup commenced, the PHF, grappling with severe financial constraints, opted to settle hotel dues in advance with the FIH-approved budget hotel, fearing complications if those weren’t paid upfront. That meant the daily allowances, a crucial motivational factor for the players, remained unpaid.

“The PHF had just around Rs15 million available,” a source within the federation disclosed. “That amount was enough either for hotel costs or for dailies, not both. Since accommodation was a non-negotiable priority, the hotel payments were made in advance -- leaving us without the funds to pay the players.”

While the PSB provided international travel tickets, sources say the PHF was counting on the Board to fulfill its verbal commitment regarding dailies -- a hope that was dashed when officials at the PSB categorically denied any such agreement.

“We only assisted in getting the required NOC for money transfers to the hotel in Malaysia,” a senior PSB official told ‘The News’. “At no point did our director general make any promise to cover the players’ dailies.”

With both the players and the PHF officials now en route to Pakistan following the conclusion of the Nations Cup, no official response has been made from the federation yet. But one thing is clear -- the ongoing financial mismanagement, lack of coordination, and broken promises have cast a long shadow over the team’s campaign, especially as players entered the all-important final with minds clouded by unresolved monetary issues.

Despite these off-field distractions, Pakistan, ranked 15th in the world, delivered a heroic performance, stunning top-seeded France in a dramatic semi-final and brushing past several higher-ranked teams to reach the final. Though they fell just short of winning the title, the squad’s spirited display is expected to give a significant boost to their international ranking and has reignited hope for the revival of national hockey.