‘PHF determined to hold hockey league this year’

KARACHI: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is making all efforts to organise the Pakistan Hockey League this year, assuring foreign players that they will get high-level security.

PHF president Brig Khalid Khokhar told ‘The News’ that security arrangements for the players would be foolproof.

PHF wanted to the make the year 2017 the year of revival of international hockey in the country, he said.

“By organising this league, we will assure our budding players that the national game is a sellable commodity in the country. The boys will know that if they play well, they will earn great money,” he added.

“From day one PHF wants to organise the event in Pakistan due to which we waited for a long time. We did not organise the event outside the country as others have done because it would not serve the interest of the national game,” said Khokhar.

“The best players of the world will be invited to participate in the event from Australia, Germany, Holland, England, Argentina, Spain, New Zealand and Belgium,” he added.

He said there would be proper marketing of the league to ensure that it is successful financially.

“Some memorable programmes related to the golden history of Pakistan’s hockey would be prepared to revive the game,” the PHF chief said.

The PHF wants to involve all stakeholders in organising the event to make the event successful, he added. “Former greats of Pakistan hockey will be involved in the event. Their experience will certainly help us in making the event successful,” Khokhar said.

PHF secretary Shahbaz Ahmed said the salient features of the event would be made public gradually. “Our focus right now is on the qualifying rounds going to be held in June, but we are also working for the hockey league. Both are very different subjects and we are handling them separately. We don’t want to say anything definite about its timing right now,” Shahbaz said.

“The timing of the professional league will be announced when things are finalised,” the secretary said.