PHF receives Rs70 million

KARACHI: The new PHF management has received its first grant, of Rs70 million, from the government after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved it, ‘The News’ learnt on Friday.
Well informed sources in the PHF said that the development occurred a few days ago when the PM issued directives to release Rs70 million to PHF.
The PHF has a number of important assignments ahead, including the preparation for Junior World Cup 2016.
Some activities would be conducted to keep the senior players active, as they have failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics 2016, said a source.
The PHF has been struggling for several years to get funds for running the national game but due to mismanagement of the previous chiefs the federal government had been ignoring the matter.
The failure to qualify for World Cup 2014 and now Rio Olympics 2016 compelled the previous PHF management to resign finally.
The PM, who is the patron in chief of PHF, appointed Brig (rtd) Khalid Khokhar as president of the PHF, who then appointed Olympian Shahbaz Senior as the federation’s secretary.
The PHF president, when contacted, also confirmed that Rs70 million had been approved and released by the federal government.
He said that since the new management took over there had been few financial problems for the preparation of national hockey teams.
He said that PHF was doing a lot to promote hockey at the grassroots level and strength the national hockey team at the international level. “That the juniors have qualified for the World Cup shows that our steps are bearing fruit,” he said.
Khokhar said that the PHF would gradually announce its important decisions for Pakistan teams’ programmes.
“Right now we have to focus on the national hockey championship and preparation of the junior team for World Cup,” he said.
It may be noted here that two federal ministers had opposed releasing funds for PHF before the appointments of Khokhar and Shahbaz.