PHF plans excellence academy, four directorates

KARACHI: PHF president Khalid Khokhar and secretary general Shahbaz Ahmed Senior resolved on Saturday that they would bring transparency not only in the affairs of the federation but also ensure that its benefits reach the grassroots level.

Talking to reporters after the PHF’s annual congress meeting, Khalid said PHF was going to establish an excellence academy in Lahore where most talented youngsters would be accommodated. They would get education and stipend.

The excellence academy would have its branches in Karachi and Islamabad, and later on in Peshawar and Quetta, he said.

He said that PHF would also establish four directorates to run hockey affairs smoothly.

These directorates would have director for high performance, director for development, director for marketing, and director for media.

He made it clear that if his team did not deliver, he would leave his post.

He vowed that hard work would be continued and that PHF had a plan to boost the game at the grassroots level, including schools.

The PHF president said that they would focus on school hockey and districts.

“The officials of FIH and AHF who recently visited Pakistan promised to help us in this critical period,” he said.

He said PHF was going to start five-a-side events at the grassroots level.

PHF secretary Shahbaz said that due to the PHF efforts engagements for senior hockey team had been planned and the Green-shirts would participate in Sultan Azlan Shah tournament.

They would also visit Australia to participate in a four-nation tournament, he said.

A goalkeeper academy would be established very soon, he added.

The PHF high ups disclosed that they wanted to organise a professional league in the country as soon as possible.

Earlier, Shahbaz and Akhlaq Usmani were unanimously elected as secretary general and treasurer, respectively.

Shahbaz and Usmani were nominated by Brig Khalid after taking vote of confidence from the PHF Congress in Islamabad in August this year.

Both were required to take vote of confidence from the Congress which is mandatory according to the PHF constitution.

The Congress met at a hotel here on Saturday in which Nawabzada Lashkar Raisani, president of Balochistan Hockey Association, presented a resolution showing full confidence in Shahbaz as secretary general and Akhlaq as treasurer. Representatives from Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh endorsed the resolution.

The Congress, however, did not endorse the constitution of the PHF drafted by the previous management and constituted a Constitutional Committee, headed by Shahbaz.

Secretaries of four provincial hockey associations will be members of the Committee.

The Committee will draft a new Constitution in line with the guidelines of International Hockey Federation.

The new Constitution would be presented to the Executive Board of the PHF for approval.

The Congress also approved the establishment of academies in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.