01 March 2005	Tuesday	19 Muharram 1426

KARACHI, Feb 28: Unveiling the 'revitalization plan', the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) chief Tariq Kirmani said on Monday option of hiring a foreign coach has been open for the sake of sport's promotion.

"Personally, I feel that no matter how good a player is it is not necessary that he could be a good coach. I must say PHF will never hesitate in hiring a foreign coach if need be.

"The decisions will not be taken on the whims of anybody but for the promotion of hockey," he told a press briefing. Mr Kirmani said PHF would take decision whether a foreign coach should be hired within two months. He, however, said he would be looking for the best and local coaches could be engaged if they were found to be professional and competent.

Emphasising on integrity, merit and transparency, Mr Kirmani said PHF's objective was to build its image through thorough restructuring on modern lines by introducing financial incentives for the players and broadening the base of hockey at grassroots level.

Interestingly, the recent decision to launch Under-13 and 14 hockey academies at different centres seems to be futile exercise since the players reporting for the trials are well above 15 or 16 years of age. While the PHF never paid attention at grassroots hockey during the past five years, the launching of the academies came after Mr Kirmani took over on Jan 5.

As part of its system of rewards and cash benefit, PHF would give Rs5,000 as match-winners' allowance, while daily allowance of Rs150 to the players has been increased to Rs500. To take care of players' health, PHF has also planned to introduce health insurance cover.

Mr Kirmani said PHF would make efforts to re-start the educational quota in universities and professional institutes and creating employment opportunities in corporate sector.

"We have to give the players peace of mind and for that they must be rewarded and provided jobs so that they can deliver," he said. The PHF official said league at schools/colleges, provincial and national level was the priority besides the appointment of experienced coaches which he said was a controversial issue.

"With an intention to give hockey a fresh look, we will use colourful uniforms during leagues and ensure registration of clubs on specified criteria and development of infrastructure."

Apart from league at home, PHF would also target to implement across-the-border league, while plan to play India in the United States, Canada and Sri Lanka, were afoot. "We are in contact with Indian hockey officials but the modalities are yet to be finalized," he added.

While Mr Kirmani admitted that lot of work was needed to be done to attract more players, surprisingly, he said the talent pool would be increased through advertisements. The official said to give the players more exposure focus would be on organizing international events at home and participation of tournaments abroad.

Mr Kirmani said generating revenues would be one of his prime concerns, while media coverage, including live transmission of major domestic and international tournament, special dedicated news coverage on major channels and re-telecast of top 50 game won by Pakistan, would also be the target. To revitalise PHF, the president also unveiled the new logo of the federation showing a star embossed with a hockey stick and ball.