‘PHF does not deserve credit for wins’

KARACHI: Former legends of hockey have said that the federal government must resolve the financial issues faced by players to prevent the national game from dying in the country.
The players have not been paid their dues for more than a year and a half, which threatens Pakistan’s preparation for qualifying rounds of Rio Olympics 2016.
In a talk with ‘The News’, Olympians Khalid Mehmood, Khwaja Zakauddin, Manzoor Junior and Naveed Alam said that the federation wanted to cash in on the success in the Asian Games and the Champions Trophy by getting a big amount from the government which they would use for their own interest.
The Olympians said that it was the old heroes Islahuddin and Shahnaz Shaikh who brought back the Green-shirts on the winning track as they knew the art of hockey and were working without any financial package.
It is pertinent to mention here that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is also the patron in chief of PHF, has not yet met with the silver-winning team of Asian Games and Champions Trophy.
The Olympians said that the government should first ask PHF how the funds previously given were spent and the results achieved. They said two governments gave them more than Rs1 billion but the result was that Pakistan failed to qualify for the World Cup 2014, did not play Commonwealth Games, lost in Junior Hockey World Cup 2014 in the quarter-final, lost in Youth Olympics 2014.
“All PHF officials and their cronies are taking huge salaries, having joy trips in every foreign tour, receiving allowances in dollars,” Khalid said.
The former old guards endorsed the government’s decision not to release Rs500 million in one go as demanded by PHF.
Khalid, a former secretary of PHF and captain of Pakistan’s first World Cup winning team in 1971, said that the government should first give cash awards to the members of the team and the management. “Our hockey’s future depends on them. They must not be disappointed,” he said.
“The boys should not be punished for the blunders of PHF. They have been fighting for the survival of the national game for such a long time without getting salaries and any other financial benefits. They haven’t even been paid the prize money of 2012 Asian Champions Trophy, Asian Games 2014, and Champions Trophy 2014,” Khaild said.
Naveed mentioned that it was the result of PHF’s policies that departments were not giving jobs to players as decided by three prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto, Zafarullah Jamali, and Yousf Raza Gilani. “PHF itself imposed a condition of being less than 30 for participation in domestic hockey events, giving the departments reason for not hiring players,” he said.
The Olympians said PHF amended the constitution so that a person above 65 cannot become secretary and one over 70 cannot become president.
These changes were made to prevent old former players from getting positions in PHF, they said.
Zakauddin said the government should invite all stakeholders of hockey and discuss with them in detail how the game should be run. He said the current management of PHF could not do anything alone. “It was the induction of Shahnaz and Islah which brought improvement. Otherwise what PHF was doing for the past several years everybody knows,” he said.
The Olympians said it had been proved that the old guards could change the fortunes of the team in just six months.
Some close associates of PHF management had planned that they would launch a movement to get Shahnaz and Islah replaced, but the team’s success foiled their plan, they said.
The former players said it was not about funds but of integrity. Those who gain positions through shortcuts cannot promote hockey at domestic level as their ambitions are different, they said. There are a lot of hockey stalwarts who are ready to run the game without any incentive, they added.
An Olympian said that when Zafarullah Jamali was the boss of PHF, it had Rs100 million in its account, the team played Olympics, had a 45-day European tour, participated in Sultan Azlan Shah tourney, the domestic hockey was running quite well, and there was no issue of players’ and officials’ salaries. “When he left PHF, it still had Rs60 million in its account,” he said.
“Now the players are empty handed and are playing professional leagues to earn their bread and butter,” the Olympian said.