PHF launches nationwide schools hockey league in Islamabad
Competitions will run in all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, with 200 top players to be picked for specialised camps.
Pakistan launched a nationwide Schools Hockey League at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium in Islamabad, with the Pakistan Hockey Federation aiming to widen the pool of players available to the national side.
The opening exhibition match was played between two Islamabad Model College for Girls sides. The Tarlai team beat the G-6/1-4 team 2-0 before a large crowd of students.
PHF president Mohyuddin Wani, who is also secretary of the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination, inaugurated the league along with Dr Ehtesham Anwar, chief coordinator to the PHF president. Pakistan's Dutch head coach Herman Kruis attended.
Wani said the league was being launched simultaneously in Islamabad, all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, with boys' and girls' teams given equal opportunities. The competition therefore covers Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan as well as the two territories.
He announced that 100 boys and 100 girls who perform exceptionally would be selected for specialised training camps. Players from the top three boys' teams and the top three girls' teams will receive one-year scholarships, and the overall winning team will be sent on an overseas tour.
ProPakistani reported that players in the league would also receive monthly stipends as well as specialised training.
The federation said the league is intended to build a pathway for young players into the national teams and to promote fitness, discipline, teamwork and sportsmanship.
Pakistan has won four Hockey World Cups and three Olympic gold medals but has struggled to hold its place among the world's leading teams. Wani said the initiative was aimed at discovering young talent and rebuilding the country's standing in international hockey. Organisers hope the league will reconnect a new generation with the sport and create a wider talent pool.
How the reports differ
The Express Tribune named the officials at the launch, including PHF president Mohyuddin Wani, Dr Ehtesham Anwar and Dutch head coach Herman Kruis, and gave the opening result, a 2-0 win for Islamabad Model College for Girls, Tarlai. ProPakistani's standfirst said players would receive monthly stipends as well as specialised training, a detail the Express Tribune's report did not carry.
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