Provinces must hold regular sports competitions to hone sporting talent
Devolution of sports to the provinces after the 18th Amendment is bound to play a key role in the development of sports. The step, no doubt, has created several problems as many things have not yet been clearly defined regarding the transfer of key sports installations to the provinces, which are still under the central government’s control.
Despite having demerits, the decision to devolve sports has benefited the area in the sense that the provinces have now started allocating hefty funds for development of the required infrastructure to streamline sports.
As per official statistics, work on 149 sports projects in Punjab is in progress on which Rs2.9 billion is being spent. The projects include mini sports complexes, indoor gymnasiums and grounds at the divisional and district levels.
Interestingly the Sports Board Punjab’s (SBP) budget is several times higher than the budget of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) which is the main body responsible for running sports affairs in the country.
However, this budget alone is no indicator of a complete revolution. The province still needs a lot of work. In the development schemes underway in Punjab, there is no mega project which enables the province to host Asian or even South Asian Games in the near future. Still, one bright aspect is that sports facilities will reach the district level and will be expanded further to the tehsil and even town or village level, if possible.
Some top sports officials in various federations complain that halls for indoor games left incomplete in Punjab during the reign of the PML-Q have not yet been completed. However, an SBP official claims that some halls have been completed.
Besides completing some mega projects like Hayatabad Sports Complex and Charsadda Sports Complex, KP is also working on preparing grounds at the tehsil level. As many as 34 grounds have been completed out of 74 in the plan.
Similarly, 25 more grounds would be added at the school level in KP. The province is lucky to have Qayyum Sports Complex, which is the second largest multi-sport facility after the state-owned Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad.
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In Balochistan’s 31 districts, 17 cricket grounds and the same number of football grounds are being prepared besides building a swimming pool in Quetta, on which a hefty amount is being spent. Balochistan has produced world-class boxers and footballers and the province needs to focus on that area. Yet, one wonders, why has the provincial government left the only football stadium in Chaman incomplete? Also, there is no proper boxing gymnasium in Quetta.
In Sindh, work on 35 sports projects is in progress while 65 projects are in the pipeline. But, here, too, there is no plan of building a multi-purpose sports complex fit to host a major international multi-sports extravaganza.
There is no track for athletics in the whole country for international athletics competitions to be held on. Even the athletics track at the Pakistan Sports Complex Islamabad is outdated. Provinces need to make more hockey turfs for the revival of the national sport.
In fact, all sports need attention in terms of infrastructure, coaching, exposure, and in so many other areas. Pakistan has been winning medals in Asian Games in wushu, for instance, but there is no playing facility for the sport.
To be fair, the provinces are the real producers of talent: They pick sporting talent from schools, colleges, clubs and academies and recruit. What is missing is quality coaching and competitions both at the provincial and district level.
Though provinces now have coaches qualified to train players in their respective disciplines, the number of coaches available is insufficient to meet the demand.
Provinces should hold competitions throughout the year so that talented individuals get opportunity. Sports Board Punjab (SBP), for the last few years, has been spending billions of rupees on international sports festivals but its output is much lower-- in stark contrast to the magnitude of investment. If SBP spends even 10 per cent of that amount on infrastructure development, it could equip every tehsil with sports facilities.