close
Thursday March 28, 2024

Low allocations hampering foreign coaches hiring

By Alam Zeb Safi
February 28, 2017

KARACHI: During the last four years Pakistan government has hardly backed any federation in hiring a foreign coach. Every year Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) keeps a specific amount in its budget for hiring foreign coaches but the amount has not been utilised during the last four years. Another major issue is that the PSB cannot pay more than 2500 US dollars to a foreign coach which is too little keeping in view the high market value of coaches of most disciplines in international circuit.

And this policy of the Board has also hit hard Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF). The PVF finalised its deal with Iranian coach Hamid Movahidi but the PSB does not seem interested in the coach because of his demand for 5000 US dollars.

PVF chairman Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob the other day met secretary of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) ministry but he did not give any satisfactory response regarding the contract of Movahidi.

Sources said that the IPC official told Yaqoob that it was difficult for the government to pay 5000 US dollars to the Iranian coach and that the federation should opt for some other coach whose demand is within the limits of the Board.

“We have now only one option. Our senior player Naseer Ahmed plays in Lebanon. He has told me that there is a Brazilian coach who is working with a club in Saudi Arabia. His contract expires shortly,” a PVF official told this correspondent. “Naseer told me that his demand is 6000 US dollars but he has requested him to serve Pakistan for 3000 US dollars. We will contact him and if he agrees to join us for 3000 or 3500 dollars then we will try to add to the salary which the PSB would offer him,” he added.

Pakistan are to participate in three international events this year. From May 1-9, Pakistan will take part in the Asian Under-23 Championship in Iran.

The PVF is holding a National Under-23 Championship in Peshawar these days so that a solid lot could be finalised for the Iran event.

Pakistan senior team will feature in the Islamic Games in Baku from May 12-22.

Pakistan will feature in the Asian Senior Volleyball Championship in July in Indonesia.

“These are all very important assignments and we direly need a foreign volleyball coach,” the PVF official added.

Because of the low standard of coaches in Pakistan the PVF finds it difficult to continue with the local stuff.

The federation has already seen the importance of a foreign coach. In 2007-08 Pakistan got the services of Iranian coach Ali Reza Moameri who guided Pakistan to their maiden bronze medal in the 26-year history of the Asian Junior Volleyball Championship.

Ali Reza in an interview to this correspondent at that time said that he would lead Pakistan to victory podium in the continental event if the PVF provided his team a few foreign tours. The PVF did that and the coach accomplished what he had promised.

Pakistan spent the last eight years without a foreign coach which has brought the standard of the national team considerably down.

“Having a foreign coach is always great,” the official said.

Other federations are also trying to get the services of PSB for hiring foreign coaches. Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) is about to hire a Korean coach. Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) has also convinced a Chinese coach who can be paid within the PSB’s approved amount. The PTTF has sent a draft agreement to the PSB.

The other day a PSB official told ‘The News’ that they would look at the matter of table tennis coach.

A committee has been constituted for hiring the services of a foreign coach which is headed by the PSB Director General Dr Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera.

The committee evaluates various aspects of the contract before giving its consent.

Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) also wanted to hire a Cuban coach ahead of the Olympic qualifying rounds last year but failed to do so because of its strained relations with the PSB.

The judo federation availed itself of the services of an Iranian coach for two years whose contract expired last June.