PHF chief meets President Arif Alvi

KARACHI: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Brigadier Khalid Sajjad Khokhar called on President Dr Arif Alvi at Awan-e-Sadar on Wednesday, a spokesman of PHF said on Thursday.

He said that the PHF president briefed Alvi on the affairs of Pakistan hockey, discussed with him the ways and means to uplift the national game and requested him for government patronage in prompting the national sport.

President Alvi promised his support to PHF in its efforts to hold the first professional league in October this year. The PHF president told Alvi that despite facing shortage of funds PHF continued the domestic activities and even increased the number of events in the PHF’s calendar.

He informed the President that due to lack of funds PHF was unable to send the national senior and junior teams on foreign tours on regular basis due to which the Green-shirts’ performance was badly affected as well as its world ranking.

The PHF president also said that PHF not only restored several teams but also established a couple of new teams in the country. This was the reason why around 100 players got jobs, he claimed.

The PHF president said that PHF was keen to organise the first professional hockey league in the country, but lack of funds was a big issue. The professional league would boost the national game and the performance of Pakistan at international level, he said. President Alvi assured PHF president his support for the promotion of the national game.