PHF draws up elaborate inter-club plan

KARACHI: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has devised a comprehensive plan to revive hockey in the country, a PHF spokesman said on Friday.

A very vital part of the plan is the activation of hockey at the club and school levels, he said. 

Clubs constitute the basic unit of the edifice of Pakistan hockey, he said. 

In the past, the domestic club scene was very active and competitive. Clubs played the role of a nursery in producing quality players, he added. The PHF desires to recreate that old club culture, he said.

Inter-club competitions will be a permanent fixture of the PHF’s annual calendar, the spokesman said. 

It would start from the Inter Club ‘District’ Hockey Championships to be followed by the Inter Club at the divisional level and then the provincial, he added.

At the national level the top clubs from the provincial competitions would vie for the title of the National Club Champion, who would be sent to some competition outside Pakistan.

PHF Director Development and Domestic Naveed Alam will monitor the events. 

Competitions at district level will run from Oct 24 to 31; divisional level from Nov 3 to 10; provincial level from Nov 14 to 21; national level from Nov 24 to Dec 2.

At the national-level event, there will be three clubs from KP, four from Punjab, two from Balochistan, three from Sindh, one from Islamabad, one from AJK, one from Gilgit-Baltistan and one from FATA.

The prime objective of the entire exercise is to broaden the base of the game by having an increased pool of players for every position to infuse fresh blood in the national teams besides finding timely replacements for the outgoing players.