Young players leaving PIA for greener pastures

KARACHI: PIA, once a powerhouse of Pakistan’s sports, is passing through its worst phase as its cricket team has been relegated to grade II of the domestic cricket. Quaid-e-Azam and its hockey players are leaving to join other teams. Moreover, three young footballers who had been getting stipends have joined Civil Aviation Authorities, which is giving handsome amounts to sportspeople.

The footballers are Zainul Abdeen, Sameer Ahmed and Naveed Ullah.

CAA has recently established its football team.

Some of PIA’s players have been hired by Fauji Fertilizers.

PIA Colts was considered a nursery for talented players, but players have been discouraged by the financial crisis and lack of attention from the organisation’s sports department.

Joining PIA used to be considered an achievement by young players.

Its cricket team, which once employed such great players as Hanif Muhammad and Imran Khan, has been relegated from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy twice in four years. Shoaib Malik, Pakistan’s former Test captain, left PIA some time ago because of differences with the management.

In past few months, around a dozen players of PIA’s hockey and football teams have left it as its top management was not ready to increase their salaries.

The PIA Colts players were getting Rs10,000 a month. Some departments forming hockey and football teams have offered Rs30,000 to Rs70,000.

There has been no induction of young players for a long time due to which PIA’s performance in domestic competitions has been going down.

The hockey players who have left the national airline include Ali Haider, Taimur Malik, Owais and Tazeemul Hasan.

Sources said that PIA had been running in losses for many years. “That is why the players haven’t been getting any attention,” said an official.

But some PIA sportsmen said that the poor performances were not a result of the financial crisis, but of mismanagement.

They said that they have decided to disclose the mismanagement, irregularities, and nepotism of PIA’s sports department.