KARACHI: The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) on Wednesday, announced that its president, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Inter-Provincial Coordination Rana Sanaullah Khan, will take the final decision regarding the national team’s participation in the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Pro League.
The 34th board meeting of the PSB was held in Islamabad earlier today to make key decisions aimed at promoting transparency in sports governance and safeguarding the rights of young athletes.
During the meeting, the conduct of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) was also scrutinised, leading to the PSB expressing serious discontent with the former’s failure to provide accounts and funding details.
“Regarding the Pakistan Hockey Federation, the Board expressed serious concerns over its failure to provide timely accounts and funding details. The Board showed displeasure over the federation’s conduct,” the PSB said in a statement.
Furthermore, FIH’s formal invitation to Pakistan for their participation in the Hockey Pro League was also addressed, and the board members ‘authorised’ the PSB President to take the final decision.
The board further decided that the PSB President will send a formal letter, outlining the rationale and objectives of the national team’s participation in FIH Pro League, to Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
“Concerning the invitation to participate in the FIH Pro League, members authorized the PSB President Rana Sanaullah Khan to take the final decision,” PSB’s statement read.
“It was agreed that a formal letter, outlining the rationale and objectives of participation, would be sent by the PSB President to the Prime Minister,” it added.
For the unversed, the FIH, earlier today, formally invited the PHF to send its team to participate in the Hockey Pro League following Hockey New Zealand’s decision to withdraw from the tournament.
Notably, the FIH has also set a deadline of August 12 for Pakistan to inform the apex federation of their decision to accept or deny the invitation.
Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.
