On June 8, the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) constituted a five-member committee which will review the 2005 sports policy in order to make it more vibrant and bring it in line with modern sports requirements.

This was decided in the 88th meeting of the PSB Executive Committee which was chaired by the federal minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Dr Fehmida Mirza in Islamabad.

The committee will be headed by the Secretary IPC and will include president of Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), a representative of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the legal advisor of the PSB and a veteran sports personality.

The committee will submit its draft recommendations within one month with the IPC. The draft will then be shared with all stakeholders and their input will be taken before finalising the things. This was the most pressing point on the five-member newly-formed PSB ExCo’s agenda.

There is no representation of the most vital stakeholders, the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and provincial sports boards in the review committee. Former Director General of PSB Dr Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera commented that there was need to involve POA and provincial sports boards in the review process.

Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) chairman and former federal secretary SM Sibtain told me the other day that POA and provincial sports boards’ representation is necessary in the review committee so that a consensus document could be prepared which could serve as a charter in future.

The PSB seems to have been ignoring POA and national federations in its decision making for the last few years, so this had been expected. There is also no representation of the POA and national federations in the newly-formed PSB ExCo, which is a rarity in the history of the Board.

Although the PSB says that the draft recommendations of the review committee will be shared with the stakeholders, involving directly the major stakeholders in the review process could have been more effective.

I would also suggest that once the draft is prepared and shared with the stakeholders a national-level seminar should be held so that a better policy could be framed.

Let’s ask PSB legal advisor Mohammad Irfan and he will tell you on which areas they will work during the review process.

“It’s a good decision from the federal minister of IPC Dr Fehmida Mirza as she took the most timely and vital step to review the 15-year-old policy in order to bring it in line with the current situation,” Irfan told ‘The News on Sunday’ (TNS).

“The policy was very old and needed to be reviewed. We want to make it more vibrant so that it could cater to the needs of the hour,” he said.

“We want to bring a paradigm shift in our relations to the federations, provinces and all the relevant stakeholders and to frame a policy which could cover all the pressing sports demands,” Irfan said.

He made it clear that there was no plan to abolish the PSB. “There is no such plan, but it is being restructured and effort is being made to make it more effective,” Irfan said.

When asked why POA and provincial sports boards were not part of the review committee, Irfan said that stakeholders were not ignored. “POA is not part of the review committee but it is in the PSB Board and ultimate decision will be taken by the Board. As far as provincial sports boards are concerned, the IPC secretary will head the review committee and he can co-opt and coordinate with the provinces. The draft recommendations will be shared with the stakeholders and their input will be sought. So no one is being ignored and everything will be done with consensus,” Irfan said.

“Previously PSB dealt with the federations and used to send teams abroad and fulfil international commitments and obligations but the issue was how to make the rest of the tiers effective and streamline things at the grassroots level,” Irfan said.

“Effort will be made to make the policy comprehensive so that we could put our sports on solid footings,” he said.

I also personally appreciate Dr Fehmida Mirza’s step to go for review of the 2005 sports policy. After 18th amendment in 2010 sports were devolved to the provinces and the PSB’s powers were reduced. The Board, which has not been devolved, now cannot undertake any development project in the provinces unless it is directed by the Prime Minister or the President of Pakistan.

Since devolution, Pakistan’s sports have been facing great issues, especially its governance at the central level.

Because of the meagre budget, there hasn’t been any growth in sports with the PSB having lost its capability to provide funds to federations, majority of whom depend on state exchequer. Some federations are of the view that if they are provided with infrastructure they will not need anything else from the state.

Pakistan needs such a system or such a sports council which could have the representation of all stakeholders so that sports are run smoothly. One hopes that the review committee, which will also have the president of Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), does its best and gives the country a policy that ensures fast growth in sports.

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