Due to Pakistan’s team failing to send a team to the first Pro Hockey League event hosted in Argentina in 2019, the FIH assessed a fine of 170,000 euros.
As it struggles to fulfil a pledge to send its men’s national squad for the FIH Nations Cup, a qualifying event for the Pro League, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) faces suspension by the sport’s international governing body (FIH).
On Saturday, a number of prominent former Olympians and captains, including Islahuddin Siddiqui, Samiullah, Asif Bajwa, Rana Mujahid, Rasheed ul Hasan, Manzoor junior, and Hasan Sardar, among others, made an appeal to the authorities to release funds to the PHF so that it could send its team to Potchefstroom in South Africa.
The FIH Nations Cup is set to begin on November 28, and the PHF has made it clear that if Pakistan is unable to send a team for any reason, it will likely face a ban and a significant financial penalty from the international organization.
For failing to send a team to the inaugural Pro Hockey League event hosted in Argentina in 2019, the PHF was assessed a 170,000 euro punishment by the FIH.
The cash-strapped PHF was only able to make partial payments on the fine.
Pakistan’s recent achievements
According to a top PHF official, Pakistan recently competed in the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia thanks to sponsorships and donations the federation was able to get because the government had not provided any funding.
According to a senior PHF official, Pakistan recently competed in the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia thanks to sponsorships and donations the federation was able to get because the government had withheld funding.
“We are in a really poor situation since we now lack the cash to send the team to South Africa and if we can’t do that the FIH can not only suspend us but will also levy a large fine,” he stated.
Another source claimed that Dutchman Siegfried Aikman, Pakistan’s foreign coach, was dissatisfied with the state of affairs as well.
“He is furious because these financial problems are impeding the growth and advancement of the team, which managed to take home the bronze medal at the Azlan Shah Cup.
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Since the PHF created a fact-finding committee to hold new elections, the government and its sports arm, the Pakistan Sports Board, have refused to transfer funding to the PHF.
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