LAHORE: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Shahbaz Ahmed Senior on Saturday resigned from his position citing the government’s alleged apathy towards the national sport. Shahbaz, in his resignation, mentioned that since the government and the Inter-Provincial Coordination Ministry had no time for hockey than he too can’t spare any. “India’s annual budget for hockey is more than Rs1 billion, whereas the annual grant for hockey in Pakistan is only Rs3.5 million,” the legendary former hockey player pointed out. Shahbaz said there was no infrastructure for hockey in the country, and that the PHF had no asset or a system in place for the generation of funds. He said that the government had been informed several times but to no avail. “The Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination didn’t cooperate even one per cent,” he regretted.
The PHF secretary complained that an uncertainty always prevailed in the PHF because of a lack of funds. “Since the day I joined the federation, I have been saying that hockey could not be run with the prevailing system. Funds are not provided but results are inquired about,” he said, adding that he had been trying his best to bring some improvement despite the gloomy situation. “The prevailing situation of the game is not acceptable. The game could not be put on the right path without the help of revolutionary measures by the government,” he concluded.
Published in Daily Times, December 30th 2018.
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