LAHORE: In a bid to lift the standard of national sport of the country, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is alls set to organise the inaugural Pakistan Hockey League in October-November this year. PHF director general Brig (r) Musarrat Ullah Khan has said that the federation will organise the league on the pattern of Pakistan Super League (PSL), which was staged in February this year by the Pakistan Cricket Board in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “However, the PHF will make its utmost efforts to stage the league in Pakistan instead of a neutral venue. We have also been given a go ahead by the security agencies for holding this mega event in Pakistan. Five teams will participate in the event.” He added that in case of security challenges, the PHF would hold the event outside the country. Musarrat, who also served as PHF secretary general, said that five teams would be announced soon. “Each team can have four foreign players.” Musarrat said the PHF was planning to outsource the league to private advertisers. “We are hopeful, this event will give a new lease of life to our hockey as it will be helpful for expanding the pool of our players,” he maintained. When asked about the exact period of the event, he said tentatively the three-week event has been planned for either the last week of October or during the beginning of October. “Our players will get handsome amount from this league, it will be a great success for giving new life to our hockey and attract more youngsters towards this national game,” he said. To query, he said the PHF would seek FIH’s guidance to make this inaugural league a big success. “We are hopeful that international players from Holland, Germany and other European countries will participate in this mega event.” Musarrat elaborated on how the federation would revive the game. “We have several plans to uplift the standards of hockey at the grassroots level. Special attention will be paid to school, college and club hockey. PHF president Sajjad Khokhar has submitted a complete five-year plan to the Prime Minister office for approval and hope it will get the nod of the Prime Minister who has been very kind to the PHF,” he maintained. “Under this plan, infrastructure that includes new grounds and academics will be established to provide maximum chances to youngsters in the country.” Talking about the upcoming Asia Cup and the Asian Champions Trophy, Musarrat said the PHF was taking these two events very seriously and the national team would make full preparations to participate in them. He said the PHF had around 130 players on its panel who were being provided a fair chance of grooming. “The PHF chief is also making efforts to get our many players adjusted in various government organisations,” he said.