PHF and Tech Valley sign hockey modernisation deal

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and Tech Valley Pakistan, the official local partner of Google in Pakistan, have signed a memorandum of understanding to modernise hockey's administrative affairs, player training and fan engagement, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported on September 24.

The state-run news agency said the agreement is intended to bring hockey operations onto modern lines. The three areas named in the MoU are administrative affairs, player training and fan engagement. No specific programmes, technologies, staffing changes or implementation timelines were described in the announcement.

The report did not give the names of the signatories, the duration of the agreement or its financial value. It did not say where the document was signed, and it carried no comment from PHF officials or Tech Valley executives. APP published only a short statement; no further details were immediately available from either organisation.

Tech Valley Pakistan is Google's official local partner in the country. The PHF is the national governing body for field hockey in Pakistan, overseeing the men's and women's national teams and domestic competitions.

Field hockey is one of Pakistan's most successful Olympic sports, with three gold medals, but the national side has struggled in recent years. Pakistan last won the Hockey World Cup in 1994 and last won Olympic gold in 1984, and the men's team has not qualified for the Olympics since 2012. The new memorandum suggests an effort to draw private-sector expertise into the running of the game, though the announcement did not specify which Google products or services would be used.

A memorandum of understanding is generally a non-binding agreement that sets out an intention to cooperate. The legal status of the PHF-Tech Valley document was not stated in the report.

No date has been given for when work under the memorandum will begin.