Support to PHF for the sake of Pakistan: Afridi

ISLAMABAD: Javed Afridi, the owner of Peshawar Zalmi, sounded optimism over the support to Pakistan Hockey Federation. In an exclusive talk with The News, Afridi said he purely took the initiative to see the green flag fluttering around the world.

“It is the name of Pakistan that is most important for me. Since hockey is our national game I wanted to help the game for the sake of Pakistan.” Afridi, who also owns Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Peshawar Zalmi, he will back Pakistan hockey at all levels till December 2018.

Afridi said it was a landmark initiative only based on the love for the country and hockey. “We are already into cricket in a big way. Irrespective of what we would gain from hockey sponsorship, our investment in sports is solely for the sake of Pakistan.”

He said as sports lover he was upset at the news emerging from neighbouring country that Pakistan had no money for their national game and to send the team to India.

“We are there to protect our sports interest. Hockey is our national game and need support and backing.” Though the PHF had got richer by around Rs 850 million during the last three years, the federation officials were seen openly declaring that the national team could miss the World Cup due to financial constraints. The PHF has sent numerous appeals to the government for financial help.

Recently two back to back requests of Rs 820 million were sent to government but to no avail.The News however has learnt from well-placed sources that the government high-ups were privy and big supporter of the sponsorship deal signed by PHF and the multinational.Javed Afridi was confident that Pakistan would go on perform well in the forthcoming World Cup starting in Indian city of Bhubaneswar from November 28 to December 16.