Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has finally succeeded in convincing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is also the patron of the national federation, to approve Rs.50 million grant which will be ‘used’ to organise a series of domestic tournaments as well as international tours for teams of all men and women age groups. It is very interesting that the present officials of the PHF, who joined the federation from the back door, since taking control of the national sport, are getting regular funds from the federal government who was reluctant to give those very funds to Akhtar Rasool-led PHF because the patron did not like former Pakistan captain Akhtar and who was shown the door when Pakistan failed to qualify for the Olympics 2016 for the first time in the history of the country.

According to a letter sent by the Prime Minister Office to the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC), “This grant-in-aid of Rs50 million shall be provided to the PHF immediately in a single tranche from the funds allocated to the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), Ministry of the IPC, in the budget for the 2016-17 financial year.” The PM’s generosity did not come as a surprise as PHF president Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, a retired brigadier and very ambitious person, is a close relative of federal minister Ahsan Iqbal. With no hockey credentials, Sajjad Khokhar joined the national federation ‘riding on the shoulders’ of his powerful relative Ahsan Iqbal.

It is very unfortunate that in the national sphere and the sporting arena the root of our dilemma is the notorious system of patronage and imposed cronies, to the exclusion of merit and professionalism. Under the powerful patron’s benevolent gaze, the pick and choose appointees can survive scandals and failures that would crush an ordinary mortal. Top positions in the PHF have always proved a magnet for cronies and junket-seekers.

PHF secretary Shahbaz Ahmed Senior, a controversial figure who was trying his best to join the PHF bandwagon since Pakistan’s failure to qualify for the Olympics, was quoted as saying that Rs10 million of the allotted funds would cover the expenses incurred on the recently concluded Under-21 team’s training camp for their participation in the ongoing four-nation hockey tournament in Germany. Another Rs.16 million have been earmarked to send the Under-21 team to more European tours, including France, Spain and Belgium. The seniors, on the other hand, are scheduled to participate in the Asian Champions Trophy in Qatar later this year, and the tour’s training in Lahore will be fuelled by the Rs16 million set aside from the aforementioned cash injection. The remaining sum of Rs8 million will be spent on the training camp for the Under-18 team’s trip to Dhaka, where the Youth Asia Cup will take place
in September.

In addition to the international tours, the PHF’s agenda also has the 29th National Women’s Championship, the Asian Women’s Hockey championship, an inaugural nine-a-side tournament in Karachi as well as the COAS Gold Cup Hockey Championship. Once those are out of the way, the PHF also plans on holding several inter-district and inter-school tournaments to improve the infrastructure of hockey at grass roots. Would the present management of the PHF, termed as incompetent by many former Olympians, be able to utilize the funds in a transparent manner is a big question.