PHF to launch nationwide schools hockey league on November 15
Top three teams' players will get monthly stipends of Rs10,000, Rs7,500 and Rs5,000 for a year, with provincial rounds in January and a national final in February.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation plans to launch a nationwide Schools Hockey League on November 15, offering monthly stipends to players in the top teams and international tours to the best performers, the federation said after a consultative meeting in Islamabad.
The meeting on Tuesday was chaired by Inter-Provincial Coordination Secretary Mohiyuddin Ahmed Wani, who also heads the PHF, according to ProPakistani. Representatives of the education and sports departments of all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and the Islamabad Capital Territory attended. The News International also reported the plan to launch the league.
Competition will open with tehsil, district and divisional rounds held simultaneously across the country, followed by provincial competitions in January and the national round in February, ProPakistani reported. PHF focal person Ehtasham Anwar briefed the participants on the league's structure.
Under the proposed plan, players from the top three teams will receive monthly stipends of Rs10,000, Rs7,500 and Rs5,000 respectively for one year. The winning team and selected players will be offered international tours, and special awards will recognise school heads and sports teachers.
The league will operate under the PHF, with a dedicated chief executive officer and a steering committee headed by the federation's president, according to the report.
Wani urged officials to treat the league's implementation as a national responsibility, citing Pakistan's past achievements in hockey and the sport's status as the national game.
Representatives of provincial and federal departments pledged cooperation and agreed to align their sports calendars and activities with the league's schedule.
The stated aim is to revive hockey at the grassroots and build a wider pool of players for the national teams. To support both sport and schooling, 100 boys and 100 girls will be selected every year for summer camps offering hockey coaching, fitness training and academic tutoring, with the plan expected to encourage more schoolchildren, particularly girls, to take up the game.
No date was given for the announcement of squads, venues or the league's budget. The federation has not said how the stipends and camps will be funded.
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