Why did PHF refuse PSB offer, asks Samiullah

KARACHI: Former Olympian Samiullah has claimed that PHF has double standards as regards the salaries of the players and those occupying managerial positions.
“We are against giving funds to PHF because the previous government gave them a lot of money and they misused it,” he said while talking to ‘The News’ on Monday. “The players and the team officials have remained deprived of their salaries for last one and a half years. Where is that money, more than Rs1.4 billion given to PHF’s past and current management bodies,” he asked.
He said everyone associated with the game wanted release of funds for the payment of salaries and benefits to the players and the team officials despite their opposition to PHF’s policies.
Samiullah, a former Pakistan captain, said that PHF made hue and cry to get funds so that they could again use the funds for their personal benefits. “There is no issue of funds as PSB has offered PHF to organise the training camp at PSB sports complex where all facilities would be available to the participants of training camp, but PHF is not accepting this offer,” he said.
He said it showed that PHF was more interested in getting hold of money than the welfare of players.
He said that the former greats of the game would always oppose giving funds in the hands of PHF, but they would demand release of the salaries of the players.
Rejecting PHF’s Vision 2025, he said that it should make a comprehensive and concrete programme for hockey and present it to sports authorities for approval.
He said it was the result of their (PHF’s) visionary policies that Pakistan failed to qualify for the World Cup 2014 and had to participate in the qualifying rounds of Olympics 2016.
“When everything is available in Islamabad at Naseer Bunda hockey stadium and PSB has offered to bear all the expenditure, why are they saying that due to lack of funds Green-shirts’ programme is being affected?” said Samiullah. .
Samiullah said his group would oppose the release of funds to PHF without an analysis by the government of its development plan, including the expenses on national senior and junior teams’ assignments in foreign countries.
He appealed to the government to issue the cheques of national hockey team members who won two silver medals in two big events.