The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is finally underway in Pakistan with the top eight international teams participating in the tournament.

More importantly, this mega international event coming to Pakistan ends years of international isolation for the country and mitigates a lot of security and other concerns which prevented teams from visiting us.

As the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement “Hosting the Champion’s Trophy is a significant milestone for Pakistan.” It is hoped that more such events will usher in a new era of opportunities for our sporting talent to prosper through exposure and competitiveness at the international level.

The re-commencement of international tournaments on home grounds is certainly a good omen for the future of sports in general and the restoration of the long-lost positive image of the country in particular.

However, we need to review our present sports scenario so we do not repeat past mistakes and make the most of the reprieve and breathing space we have been given on account of holding the ICC mega event.

There was a time in the golden 60s and beyond when Pakistan excelled in many key sectors. Our bureaucrats were sincere, our industry was progressive with many dams and mega projects initiated, and our economy was in place with countries like South Korea utilizing our 5-year economic development plans for putting their own house in order.

Even our beleaguered ‘flag carrier’ was once the pride of our nation and ranked as the top airline in the world, with the likes of President John F. Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth complementing it and loving to travel by it. This winning streak correlated and intertwined perfectly with sports too. PIACL facilitated sports by employing talented athletes (many of whom went on to earn laurels for the country). It supported sportsmen and generously invested in promoting sports such as squash, hockey, and cricket at local and international levels. It’s a perfect example of public-private partnership support for promoting sports to develop national talent, particularly in the youth, a resource that Pakistan has plenty of.

The period from 1948 onwards, right up to the 1990s can be termed as Pakistan’s golden era in sports. It started with the likes of Roshan Khan, Hashim Khan, Jahangir Khan, Qamar Zaman, Mohibullah Khan, and Janshar Khan reigning supreme in the squash world. We were virtually invincible, with even players of the calibre of Australian Geoff Hunt unable to dislodge the great Khans. As an example, Pakistan's Jahangir Khan holds the record for the longest winning streak in squash, where he remained unbeaten for five years from 1981 to 1986. The year 1992 was the apex of our sports performances when we came from behind to win the ICC World Cup tournament held in Melbourne, Australia.

Olympic games are a good measure of a country’s international standing in sports. Pakistan participates regularly, both in the Summer and Winter Olympics (though it never won a single medal of any colour in the Winter Olympics). Pakistan started relatively well by winning 10 medals between the period 1958-1992. But what happened next is unbelievable and most worrying, even to the most ardent supporters.

And here is the shocking and deplorable downside. From 1992 to 2024, Pakistan went without a single medal in any event, not even a bronze medal. Also, they had never won a Gold in the single-players event until Nadeem Arshad the Javelin Thrower, came to their rescue by winning a Gold medal for his country in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Equally worrying is the fact that it took Pakistan 77 years to win its first gold medal in the Individual Player’s category (to date there were only two athletes who won a Bronze each in the individual player category for Pakistan (Mohammad Bashir: 1960 Bronze in wrestling and Hussain Shah: 1988 Bronze in Boxing). And yes, there’s another point to ponder.

In the last 2024 Paris Olympics when most Pakistani citizens were glued to their TV sets to watch Nadeem Arshad win a Gold, we were shocked to see the march pass of an 18-member Pakistani contingent which included only seven athletes and 11 officials to oversee them. Furthermore, it is worrying to note that Pakistan with a population of over 240 M could only find 7 athletes fit to compete in the Olympics whereas New Zealand with a much smaller population of over 5 M included 195 athletes in 22 sports (M: 98 F: 97 - A reflection of Gender Equality)

The importance of Sports cannot be overstated. It has to be recognised as an integral part of our lives. In Pakistan, however, sports have not been accorded due importance or support, which has hurt the country’s youth the most. This is particularly so as Pakistani youth are a huge untapped resource. According to the UNDP, 64 % of the nation is younger than 30 and 29 % are between 15 and 29 (also known as the ‘youth bulge’) whereas only seven per cent of Pakistani children and youth have access to a playground.

Furthermore, a staggering 27 M of these youth are out-of-school children, which ranks the highest in the world. Many of these children are living in remote areas with no schools or playgrounds, thus leading a life without purpose or direction. Giving these children free access to education and sports facilities would certainly make their lives more meaningful and enable them to enrich the society they live in. It’s about time we as a nation, realize this untapped potential and provide the infrastructure and opportunities for them to blossom and flourish. There are many Abdus Salams, Jahangir Khans and Nadeem Arshads out there awaiting just such an opportunity to unleash their talent and positive energies and start contributing towards the progress and prosperity of this country.

The author, a senior consultant at the Burki Institute of Public Policy at Netsol, is a corporate member of the Institution of Engineering Technology, UK, and a chartered engineer, UK. He may be contacted at: rehan30@hotmail.com