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| December 22, 2001 | Saturday | Shawwal 6, 1422 |
Technical panel for national team
LAHORE, Dec 21: Technical assistance will be provided to the national team management to raise the performance of the team in the World Cup Hockey Tournament to be held in Malaysia in February, 2002.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Brig. Mussaratullah Khan after attending the PHF council and congress meetings here on Thursday said that a technical panel would be formed soon after confirming the availability from different hockey legends.
The secretary said that the members of the technical committee, would be in an advisory capacity and would not go abroad with the national team.
He said that some hockey legends like Shahnaz Sheikh, Col. Zafri and Tayyab Ikram will been taken in the technical committee, subject to their availability.
While replying to a question, the PHF secretary said that the council had approved the decision of retaining the national team management for the World Cup, under which the Pakistan took a poor fourth position in the 23rd Champions Trophy held at Rotterdam (Holland) this year.
He said that neither the PHF president nor he termed the team performance in the Champions Trophy as satisfactory.
But the decision to hold the same management till the World Cup was taken because the time was short and the new management could not have performed any miracle.
The secretary further pointed out that manager of the Pakistan team Khalid
Sajjad Khokhar presented his report on the Champions Trophy.
He said that the members of the council were not satisfied over the performance of the team.
The PHF secretary said that no decision has been taken by the FIH regarding awarding the 25th Champions Trophy-2003 to Pakistan as compensation of the 23rd edition which was held at Rotterdam (Holland) after shifting from Lahore due to security reasons in the wake of the Sept 11 air attacks in New York and Washington.
The FIH had allotted the 25th Champions Trophy-2003 to England, but Pakistan’s request to give it as compensation is being considered by the international game governing body. He said that hopefully a decision in this regard would be taken by the end of the current month.
He said that a financial compensation of Pound Sterling 6,000 had been received by the PHF which was offered by some of the participating teams of the 23rd Champions Trophy.
The FIH, he added was constitutionally bound not to give any financial compensation to any of its members under such circumstances.
To a question, he clarified that India did not pull out from the six-nation hockey tournament to be held in Malaysia before the World Cup due to Pakistan’s participation in that competition. He said that the India recently won the Challenge Trophy there and they considered it enough achievement before contesting in the World Cup and therefore pulled out the team.
He said that now the tournament would start from Jan 21 instead of Jan 17. Besides Pakistan, the other participating teams are Australia, New Zealand, Holland and the host Malaysia.
The FIH, in recognising the PHF performance, awarded it the Pablo Nagre Trophy-2001. He said that earlier the PHF had earned this laurel in 1980. The trophy was named after a FIH president who died in 1972. His family introduced the trophy.
The PHF secretary said that FIH awarded the trophy to Pakistan on promotional activities it did at the domestic and international level.
Meanwhile changing over organisational infra-structure from divisional to district associations under the devolution of power plan, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has decided to take one member on its congress from every district of the country.
This constitutional amendment was approved by the PHF council in its meeting Friday and was later endorsed by the PHF congress in the afternoon. .
Federal law minister Barrister Shahida Jamil, explained the salient features of the constitutional amendment.
The minister said that a district, having only two clubs, would become member of the Congress, but it would neither have a right of vote nor would be allowed to stand for any PHF office.
However, a district having three or four clubs as its affiliates, would have the right of vote but would not be eligible to contest for any PHF office.
But a representative of any district, having five or more clubs as its affiliates, would enjoy both the right of vote and would also be eligible to contest any office of the PHF.
She diclosed that members of the PHF council had been increased from 21 to 33. The women representation had also been enhanced in the council by also allowing membership to representatives of Azad Jammu Kashmir, Northern Areas and FATA. One member from each new unit will be taken on the council. Besides the women’s representation in the council from Punjab had been increased to four, from Sindh to three and from NWFP and Balochistan to two members, each.
The congress also approved the budget for the year 2001-2002 and audited statement of the PHF accounts besides scrutinising one year’s performance of the PHF as well.
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