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ISLAMABAD: Ticket expenses for players and team officials for the FIH Nations Cup from November 28 in Potchefstroom (South Africa) will be borne solely by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).
‘The News’ has learned from sources that PSB refused to provide any further service to the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) by distributing cash but decided to pay for tickets to players and team officials.
“We do not recognize the PHF headed by Brigadier (R) Khaled Sajjad Khokhar because we have already referred to the federation, but we still believe that the players should be helped to gain international experience to hone their skills for more important events to come. So the PCB decided to pay for the tickets for the accompanying players and team officials. We have contacted PHF to share the bill for the tickets purchased so that we can make the payment,” said an official, when contacted.
Although the actual amount of the tickets is yet to be confirmed, news has learned that PSB has set aside around 7 million rupees for this. “I think the amount will not be more than 7 million rupees because we only provide the fare while other expenses have to be borne by the aforementioned union.”
The official added that the fate of the federation is still hanging in the balance. “The three-member high-level committee set up by the federation’s patron and chaired by Defense Minister Khawaja Asif is expected to meet anytime later this week to decide on the formation of the interim committee to run the affairs of hockey in the country.
This overdue meeting was postponed on numerous occasions due to the ongoing political uncertainty and also because of Khwaja Asif’s commitments on more important defense matters. But in all likelihood now the meeting will take place later this week.
In a letter to IPC Minister Ehsan Rehman Mazari, the fund requested 30 million rupees of funding to enable the team to compete in the FIFA Nations Cup. “If Pakistan does not fulfill its obligations, FIH will penalize Pakistan with €15,000 and can impose a ban for non-compliance which is a matter of state standing,” the letter to the minister read.
However, the ministry clearly refused to disburse such a huge amount. “We care about players’ international exposure and that’s why we decided to afford the airfare.” Pakistan were placed in Group A of the Nations Cup which featured teams ranked outside the top ten.
Along with hosts Pakistan, France, Ireland and South Africa are in Group A while Group B includes Canada, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. Pakistan will play its opening match against the host nation on 28 November. Pakistan’s next match will be against Ireland on November 29 while the France-Pakistan match is scheduled for December 1. The event is scheduled for December 4th.
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