Sports leagues are very important. We see in the modern world that those nations progress in sports which have developed strong professional leagues. India has also focussed on professional leagues. And the trend is contributing to the sports success of that nation. Pakistan seems to be far behind in the area.

But still there is some hope. The Super Kabaddi League (SKL) held in Punjab early this year, which was also embellished by foreign players, induced the authorities of other sports disciplines to plan their professional leagues. The credit of holding the SKL goes to Strawberry Sports Management.

Buoyed up by the success of SKL, the same company plans to hold such leagues of other sports disciplines as well next year.

We asked the head of the company Haider Ali Daud what other leagues he is going to organise in future.

"After the major success of SKL we are now paving way for the development of other sports as well.  We have now embarked upon a rather ambitious journey to develop a multi-sport culture in Pakistan that is currently swamped with cricket content," Haider told ‘The News on Sunday’ (TNS) in an interview.

"The leagues offer many opportunities. The promise of a better sports outlook for Pakistan is always there. But at the very core are the economic opportunities. The athletes get a chance to showcase their skills and earn a good living. For many other people, this will open previously unseen opportunities. The sports sector can provide a host of areas of employment such as sports medicine, sports media, sports marketing, sports manufacturing. Globally a multi-billion dollar empire, the sports sector, has mostly gone unnoticed in Pakistan. Strawberry Sports Management takes the credit for clearing out a path in this direction," Haider said.

He said Circle Style Kabaddi League will be launched very soon. "It is a response to the growing demand of masses to introduce an international league for the traditional style of kabaddi played on soil. It is a reflection of the success of SKL. It is planned for the second quarter of 2019. It is likely to draw huge crowds from all over the country and even abroad. Especially the Sikh community is likely to participate with full vigour. Arrangements are being made to package their trip as tourism cum sports. The response so far received by our company is phenomenal as they have already locked in a couple of teams even before the formal launch," Haider said.

Haider also plans to hold a Classic Football League (CFL). "Football has immense potential. Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was reinstated early this year. Pakistan Premier League is underway and is likely to finish in early 2019. CFL shall take place once PFF elections are held," Haider said.

"With 5 and 7 a side football gradually gaining popularity, CFL shall strike the much needed balance in the football landscape by reminding football lovers about the romance of proper 11 a side football as played all over the world. It is in this format that Pakistan flag carrier team needs to make its mark. Viewed from that perspective, CFL shall possibly be the best thing that will happen to football in Pakistan. This is because it will introduce city/ region based following of football in Pakistan which is the beauty of the game. With the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) drive for club licensing, CFL shall play a crucial role in opening up the imagination of all the football stakeholders. Although the Premier League was revived after three years, the lack of support and below par media coverage has reaffirmed the limitations of departmental football," Haider said.

And wrestling, which is Pakistan’s medal-pulling sport, is also not away from the company’s grasp. "Wrestling is amongst those sports that are consistently making Pakistan proud at global events despite the overall decline in the country’s sports. Traditional wrestling lost some ground when ‘akhaaras’ got deserted and people moved mainly towards cricket. Mat wrestling (that is recognised by Olympics) consistently won medals for Pakistan at international platforms, and that has kept the flame burning. We plan to first re-ignite the spirit of traditional wrestling by reviving Rustam-e-Pakistan, the flagship event of traditional wrestling that was last conducted in 2011-12. Once the momentum is built, the wrestling league shall take the tradition to the next level by introduction of Olympic style wrestling conducted in highly attractive settings, just like kabaddi got re-introduced and mainstreamed," Haider said.

Meanwhile Pakistan has been working extensively for the last few years to develop its volleyball. The sport needs a pro league. And Haider is planning in this respect too. "Pakistan national team made improvement in its standard under the Iranian coach. The recent rather unexpected wins of national team against China and India at the Asian Games in Jakarta were a breath of fresh air for the game. Volleyball is a truly global sport played by over 175 countries. It is extensively played in Pakistan. However, like all other non-cricketing sports, volleyball has struggled with getting media and sponsors’ attention. We plan to conduct and support series of volleyball activations nationally together with the federation so that the requisite outreach is created based upon which the league shall then be conducted towards the later part of 2019 or early 2020. We expect lots of mainstreamed volleyball in the build-up throughout 2019," Haider signed off.