Pak volleyball captain calls for professional league to boost sport

KARACHI: Pakistan volleyball team’s captain Naseer Ahmad on Wednesday said that the country cannot progress in the game until a professional league is initiated.

“Professional league is very important for volleyball to grow. Unless players are provided opportunities to earn money, no progress can be made. The players hardly meet their personal expenses through salaries they get from their departments. What would their families do?” Naseer told ‘The News’ in an interview.

“There is a slight hope now that a volleyball league would be initiated. It would be a good step if taken irrespective of its size and the amount of money which would be pumped in. If it is not made possible then we will try to hold a departmental league, involving money. This is the only way to attract new talent towards the sport,” Naseer said.

A sports management company aims to launch a pro volleyball league. The company is also working on kabaddi and wrestling leagues.

Naseer has been playing professional league for the last 12 years.

Presently, he is associated with a club in Lebanon. He has also played leagues in the UAE, Iran, Jordon and the Maldives.

Naseer, who has been serving as Pakistan captain since 2009, was happy with the way Iranian coach Hamid Movahidi had been handling national team.

“Movahidi is a good coach. I know him since 2005 when I was playing professional league in Iran. He has changed the whole pattern of Pakistan team and has made the boys accustomed to modern volleyball,” the skipper pointed out.

Naseer belongs to Shakargarh, a tehsil in the Norowal district.

“Around 12 years ago, both Pakistan and Iran were similar sides. When Iran hired Argentina’s coach Julio Velasco a few years ago, he changed Iran’s style and made it a world-class outfit. I think Movahidi has changed the team’s pattern which would help too,” Naseer said.

Movahidi’s services have been acquired for six months but Naseer said it would be important if he was given more time.

“No doubt, he needs time. He had hardly spent one month with the boys before they were fielded in the Islamic Games and World Championship qualifiers. And we did a fine job there,” the skipper said.

“In the Islamic Games, we played a tough game with strong Turkey. And in the World Championship qualifiers, we beat Kyrgyzstan before losing to Kazakhstan 2-3 due to referee’s biased decisions,” he said.

Had Pakistan been able to beat Kazakhstan they would have certainly qualified for the final round.

Naseer said had Iran’s tour been made possible ahead of the Islamic Games the result in Baku would have been much better.

“The players were disturbed when they missed Iran’s tour as they would have got a few practice matches before moving to Baku for the Islamic Games,” Naseer added.

In the Baku Games, after losing to Azerbaijan and Turkey, Pakistan were able to beat Palestine and Turkmenistan to end third in their group.

Now Pakistan team’s camp for the Asian Championships to be held in Surabaya, Indonesia, from July 24 to August 1, will begin under Movahidi in Islamabad from June 5.

Naseer said that Pakistan would produce a good performance in the continental event. “There is ample time and I hope the team will produce a much better performance in Indonesia,” he said.

But it is not yet known whether Naseer will be part of the Pakistan’s touring party for the Asian Championship.

“I have already set my mind to quit. I have played for Pakistan for 14 years and that’s enough. I have already told the team management about my intention to quit. I have told them that they have a few good boys in back-up and any one of them could replace me.

“I will meet Pakistan Volleyball Federation’s (PVF) chairman Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob on Sunday and will discuss the matter. If the PVF wants my services for the Asian Championship then I will think about it,” Naseer revealed.

Naseer is one of the longest-serving players for Pakistan.

He also agreed that it would further help Pakistan if a foreign tour was arranged for the team ahead of the Asian Championship. “It’s normally not easy to produce results without having a foreign training tour before any competition,” he was quick to add.

He said that he was determined to adjust a couple of good volleyball players in the Lebanon league.

“Very soon I will present the case of a couple of players along with their match videos before the clubs in Lebanon,” the spiker signed off.