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Tuesday March 19, 2024

‘We can’t take part in Pro League without govt funds’

By Our Correspondent
January 16, 2019

KARACHI: Pakistan’s participation in the FIH’s Pro League would only be possible if the federation got the required funds from the government, said Pakistan Hockey Federation’s (PHF) Associate Secretary Ayaz Mahmood on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference at the National Hockey Stadium, Lahore, he said the present management had been in the office for three years and a half, during which it got Rs540 million: Rs320 million from the federal government, Rs220 million from Sindh government and Rs2 million from Punjab CM.

“Currently, we only have Rs17.5 million. For our first Pro League assignment in Argentina, we need Rs30 million. For the entire Pro League, we will need more than Rs100 million,” he added.

Even in the past, whenever Pakistan won big titles, it was due to the financial support from the government, Ayaz said. He said the government might be reluctant to release funds because of the misdoings of the people who managed the federation’s affairs in the past.

Pakistan coach Danish Kaleem, who was also present on the occasion, said that Pakistan’s participation in the FIH Pro League was important for a number of reasons.“Mere participation would give Pakistan a large number of FIH ranking points. Canada and Ireland who are ranked 10th and 11th in the FIH rankings, respectively, are not part of the Pro League. Our presence in the Pro League should enable Pakistan to move past these countries, which will increase our chances of qualifying for the 2020 Olympics,” he said.

“Moreover, the experience of playing 16 matches against the world’s top teams would be a wonderful exposure for our young team,” said Danish. Ayaz also said that in case of non-participation in the Pro League, FIH could impose a ban on Pakistan’s participation in other international events and impose a fine. “In all probability, hockey is the only discipline in which Pakistan can qualify for the 2020 Olympics,” he added.

“Otherwise, it won’t be different from the 2016 Olympics when not a single sportsperson qualified from the world’s fifth largest country. The seven Pakistani entrants were given quota places,” added Ayaz.

About the domestic hockey scene, the associate secretary said Pakistan Hockey Super League would be a privately sponsored event and would be held in March. “I am optimistic about its success. That should lead to more corporate interest in Pakistan hockey and lessening our dependence on the government funds,” said the PHF associate secretary.