The word sport is derived from old French meaning leisure. The word sport (British English) or sports (American English) includes all forms of physical activity and games including traditional games, which through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and in some cases entertainment to spectators.

It was during the third Conference of Ministers & Senior Officials of Physical Education & Sports (MINEPS III) in Uruguay in 1999 that an international community with passion for sports & games proposed that a significant action from UNESCO could be initiated for the promotion and preservation of traditional games and sports.

UNESCO believes that sport is a powerful vehicle for social inclusion, gender equality and youth empowerment with benefits that are felt beyond the stadiums. UNESCO recognising the importance of traditional sports and games for their intrinsic cultural values further propelled its work on MINEPS III, and the World Green Sports festival held in Almaty in November 2006 and third World Green Sports Festival held in November 2008 at Togo under patronage of UNESCO paved way for the establishment of International Council of Traditional Sports & Games (ICTSG) in 2009, and 14th August was declared as the International Day of Traditional Sports & Games every year.

Khalil Ahmad Khan, a lawyer by profession from Pakistan, is the founder & president of ICTGS. Khalil is also the president of International Association of Traditional Wrestling, Asian Belt Wrestling of Pakistan, Ji Jutsu Federation and a few other organisations. He was also the Chairman of the former UNESCO advisory Committee on Traditional Sports & Games.

Traditional games are leisure and recreational activities with ritualistic character. They are part of diverse universal heritage and are practised in an individual or collective manner to promote global health and peace.

Sports and games like Tent Pegging, Bull Racing, Yak Racing, Buz Kushi in northern areas of Pakistan, Falconry among the Arabs, Camel Racing, Gilli Danda, Chinjo, Malakhra — a type of wrestling —, and Mukha, the ancient style of archery practised in Northern areas of Pakistan, are all traditional games.

Pencak Silat an indigenous style of martial arts in Indonesia & Malay, Zurkhaneh a deep rooted Iranian sport, and Kowat Alrami a traditional form of martial art practiced in Arab culture.

Despite the interest of more than 600 registered participants from 90 different countries, including Ministers of Sport, Culture, Tourism & Youth Affairs from the member states, not much progress has been made beyond a few international conferences and occasional local sports galas, which can’t be termed as sustainable for promotion and preservation of traditional sports & games globally.

The International Council of TSG carried out a number of consultative meetings in Ashgabat, Istanbul, Paris and Tehran and UNESCO headquarters from 2017 to 2018 that resulted in persuading the government of Kazakhstan to organise a championship of traditional sports in Almaty in April 2019, in collaboration with Kazakh Ethno-sport Association. The Ministry of Sports of the Republic of Turkey was also forthcoming in this regard and organized the Erzurum Traditional Sports Festival in 2018 with the support of the local municipality of Erzurum city.

In July 2019 the government of Pakistan organised a seminar on the importance of Traditional Games & Sports. Instead of inviting representatives of district sports with outreach to rural areas, members of National Sports Federations affiliated with IPC were invited.

Years 2021 and 2022 were relatively better in terms of activities of TSG on ground. Qazaq Kureshi World Cup was held in Romania in 2021 and the Union of Africa TSG in collaboration with UNESCO held the 9th edition of the African Wrestling Tournament in Dakar in 2021. The 16th Horseback Archery Championship was also held the same year in Iran.

The two major international TSG activities during 2022 included World Nomad Games in Bursa and Traditional Sports & Cultural Festival held at Meadows Resort, Lahore, in January 2022 which showcased traditional Kabaddi, Ludo, Bandar Killa and Cocla Chipati as traditional games.

In 2023, Mongolia will host the first junior archery competition as part of the TSG programme.

While TSG is struggling to establish its international footprint, traditional sports & games in Pakistan are represented by at least two parallel bodies. The first body is TSG Pakistan Association, with Furqan Khan a police official as its President. The other TSG association is headed by Zeshan Naqvi who was the Ex Deputy Mayor of Islamabad. Both groups claim their legitimacy, but none of them is recognised by PSB.

The letter written by Secretary General of Pakistan Wrestling Federation to DG PSB on 28 November 2022, about “involvement of Furqan group in human trafficking” under the umbrella of traditional sports is alarming.

As a sports enthusiast my only interest is to see Traditional Sports flourishing in the country. Traditional Sports and Games constitute an essential part in the identity of any society. With strong cultural links, the Traditional Sports and Games cannot thrive without outright support and involvement of the Ministry of Culture & Heritage and local municipalities.

Being a non-budgetary item of UNESCO, TGS offers multiple challenges to its organisers and stakeholders.

The growth of TGS is only possible through patronage at the highest level, well-managed solid programmes supported by sponsorship from the corporate sector.

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