World XI hockey team to play in Lahore, Karachi

E-Paper | May 03, 2026

A World XI hockey team will play two matches in Pakistan on January 12 and January 14, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Shahbaz Ahmad announced on Wednesday.

A World XI side comprising players from top international teams Argentina, Netherlands, Australia, Spain and Belgium will play its first match in Karachi on January 12 after arriving on January 10; while the second match will be played in Lahore on January 14, the official said.

Ahmad said that former greats from Pakistan and other countries will also be celebrated in a PHF Hall of Fame programme. The tour will also be taken as an opportunity to convince international players to participate in the upcoming Pakistan Hockey League.

Pakistan recently hosted a World XI side for cricket matches. The event was seen as an important step in the return of international sporting events to the country after an attack on a Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009 forced Pakistan to play 'home' matches first in England, and later the United Arab Emirates.

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Pakistan

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Syed Shahzad Bukhari

Dec 06, 2017 05:17pm

Hockey is the national game of Pakistan and has prolific past pride for all of us but due to declining interest in the game, hour of need is to change the national game of Pakistan to cricket.........

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Shahid

Dec 06, 2017 06:02pm

@Syed Shahzad Bukhari I hope and pray that Pakistan will regain it's lost glory . PHF should work independently and select deserving players and also compensate them accordingly.

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Farrukh Hussain

Dec 06, 2017 06:19pm

Good old days r back. Gardishe ayyam. Pakistan Zindabaad

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Asif

Dec 06, 2017 10:41pm

A great initiation which should have been started far before by the government.

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Khan

Dec 07, 2017 03:39am

Pakistan Hockey federation to get players from all over Pakistan not just from one Province.

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Jagga

Dec 07, 2017 05:45am

Congrats! Pakistan will again be world champion in hockey!

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omveer

Dec 07, 2017 06:33am

January is a long way off. Let's hope that no untoward incident happens that scares away the volunteer world XI players.Good for Pakistan. But that won't change the standard of hockey. It's more an image building exercise.

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FARRUKH

Dec 07, 2017 09:29am

@Shahid We ranked 19 in world squash tournament this week, forget glory days they will only cause pain

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Ignorance

Dec 07, 2017 09:41pm

Sad to see Pakistan becoming minnows in world hockey

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