|
|
|
The sorry state of sports in Pakistan
Sports in Pakistan continue to be in a sorry state, although there is no shortage of either talent or training facilities in the country. The government cannot entirely be blamed for ignoring the promotion of major games. However, it is true that the government is spending much less than required on this faculty.
Take the case of cricket. Undeniably, there is a lot of talent present here. Cricket is also everybody’s craze. But the tag of ‘underachievers’ has always hounded almost every team. Often, teams have failed to come up to expectations.
After the 1992 world cup, only a handful of new players have earned a permanent place for themselves in the team, Yousaf Youhana and Shoaib Akhtar being the more prominent of the lot. The worrying factor is that after the retirement of yesterday’s generation a gap has been built which is not being filled by equally talented players. This embodies a degeneration for Pakistan’s cricket team.
The question arises: why has this situation developed? A simple answer is that aspiring cricketers have to travel a thorny road to make it into the national team. Then, the current setup puts stress on the league system and is incapable of producing good players on a regular basis.
This situation can be remedied, to some extent, by holding training camps in different cities on a regular basis. This may enable new talent to find a berth in the national team without much hassle, and also help the cricket board pick the right players without much loss of time.
In the recent past, many talented cricketers have been unable to get a coveted place in the Pakistan cricket team. One can cite instances. Hassan Raza, a cricketer of immense promise and potential, is a case in point. Being too mature for his age, he could not make much of an impression in international matches. Muhammad Wasim, one of the best batsmen produced by the country, is another example. He too could not withstand the pressures of the system as it works in Pakistani cricket. Yasir Arafat, a good all-rounder in the mould of Wasim Akram, had to struggle when given a chance to play against powerful teams, and eventually withered away from the limelight.
One may ask why this has been a peculiar problem with Pakistani cricket. Why have young talented players been unable to graduate from first-class cricket to test cricket and become permanent members of the national team?
There are many reasons. The foremost is that these young players are rushed into international competition much too quickly, which is why they fail to make a mark. And, once this happens, they end up as burnouts.
Another reason is that young players are sometimes pitted against the best teams too early. The pressure is too intense which they are unable to bear. Budding players should be given a fair chance to grow and not be hastily pushed into stiff contests, making it difficult for them to show their true potential.
Football is very popular among people here and there is abundant talent in the country. But Pakistan is nowhere in the world rating order.
Why is it so? A major reason is the sports board’s utter negligence. Cricket, hockey or squash have always been preferred over football. The facilities cricketers get are never provided to footballers. Proper grounds are not built and the ones that we have are not maintained. Nor new football clubs are encouraged or set up.
Another important reason is lack of funds. English football clubs such as Manchester United spends almost ten times as much money as the PFF injects into national league every year.
Only self-motivated enthusiasts take up football as a career and the PFF does nothing to inspire them or look for talent. The result is that football players get sacked in the game: They have to work hard for almost no money and mostly they have to live on funds and donations from admirers.
Recently, FIFA donated a large sum of money to PFF for the development of football in Pakistan but the contribution did not make any difference as it fell into the wrong hands and was not spent the way it was supposed to be. Then, there is a dearth of professional expertise in Pakistan, making prospects of improvement very slim. Most club players do not know the correct techniques of playing the game.
Cricket and football are the most popular sports in Pakistan and must be given equal importance and promotion. The majority of people love these two games more than others and would like the country to earn a place for itself in the world of football as much as it has in the world of cricket.
|
|
|
|
