Ganjera may return as DG PSB

KARACHI: Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Director General Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera may stage a comeback as head of the Board after his retirement on February 28.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports had discussed the issue of the retirement of Ganjera in its meeting in recent past.

The committee had also praised the services of Ganjera for Pakistan’s sports development, particularly, during his tenure as Director General. The committee was of the view that in order to keep intact the sports development under Ganjera, it was necessary to recruit such a person in his place after his retirement, who has the capability to keep the progress going.

The committee agreed to constitute a sub-committee for making criteria for recruiting the DG PSB. The committee had one member each from each province.

Recently, a meeting of the sub-committee was held in Islamabad. It was recommended that the post of DG PSB should be advertised. The candidate for the post should have Masters degree in sports-related subject and an applicant with a PhD degree, would be given preference.

The PSB Executive Committee endorsed the recommendations of the sub-committee in a meeting at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad on Friday. However some recommendations also came from the ExCo members as one member suggested that a person with vast international experience of sports administration to be considered for the post of DG PSB.

As per rules, the Board is an autonomous body and its ExCo is competent to form rules.

It has been learnt that the minutes of the PSB ExCo meeting headed by federal minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Riaz Pirzada would be released soon which will clarify the whole criteria set for the DG post.

It has also been learnt that the summary may go to Establishment Division and Law Division before starting the recruiting process. Under the rules set for recruiting the chief of the PSB, Ganjera may apply for the post after retirement and can make a comeback for at least a couple of years.

Sources said that majority of the national federations want extension for Ganjera as they had developed top relations with him which was beneficial for sports progress. Ganjera has done his PhD in Sports Administration from Victoria University, Australia. He had joined the PSB as Assistant Director Training in 1986 and went on to grab the coveted post of the DG PSB in 2014 after the death of Ameer Hamza Gilani.

Ganjera is also playing a key role in establishing the first sports university of the country which is expected to be launched soon.