The highly-anticipated second Chief of Army Staff (COAS) National Inter-Club Hockey Championship is set to kick off on December 20, with the final phase scheduled to take place between February 3 and 15 at Lahore’s National Hockey Stadium.
According to the details, around 800 registered hockey clubs from across the country will be participating in the tournament, aimed at revitalising the national sport.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Rana Mujahid, accompanied by Olympians Asif Bajwa, Tahir Zaman, Mohammad Usman and Anjum Saeed, addressed a press conference here at National Hockey Stadium and outlined the four-phase structure of the forthcoming tournament, starting with district-level competitions from December 20 to January 5.
The second phase will feature divisional and regional competitions from January 8 to 13, followed by provincial-level matches from January 15 to 22.
The top 10 teams will then qualify for the national stage, where they will compete for the title.
The national stage will feature four teams from Punjab, two teams each from Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while one team apiece from Balochistan, Islamabad, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.
Mujahid expressed his gratitude towards Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir for supporting the event and taking the sport to a wider stage.
“This championship will serve as a milestone in the revival of our national sport,” said Mujahid.
Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.
