THE federal government in the 2018-19 fiscal budget unveiled recently made a surprising announcement of building 100 stadiums across the country for the development of sports. However, there has not been a single word from the quarters concerned on how to polish or honour talented athletes.

Currently in Pakistan, players of almost all sports — barring cricket — are facing an uncertain future due to sheer government apathy towards facilitating promising athletes several of whom, past and present, have recorded impressive achievements in their respective discipline at international level.

Needless to say, there is an acute need for the government to come out with a comprehensive and long-term national sports policy aimed at not only providing best coaching and equipment to the players, but also at protecting their future after retirement.

The main hurdle in the way of sports development in Pakistan is that there is no specific policy on grooming talented athletes and honouring them for their achievements in cut-throat international competitions.

Numerous such examples have surfaced recently where former sportspersons — some of them renowned for their magnificent achievements during their playing days — are leading life riddled with suffering.

The case of Olympian Mansoor Ahmed, Pakistan’s hockey World Cup-winning goalkeeper, perhaps tops the present list of sportspersons who have been practically abandoned by the authorities concerned.

Mansoor, whose memorable save in the shootout against the Netherlands helped Pakistan clinch the 1994 World Cup final in Sydney, has been fighting for life due to a heart disease. Presently, he is admitted to a hospital in Karachi.

While the goalkeeper, who remains in critical condition, recently has sought help from the Indian government to arrange his treatment in India, it is time for Pakistan’s authorities concerned to think about the level of indifference they have reached regarding national heroes, particularly after their retirement. Moreover, the goalkeeper, according to a latest media report, has refused an offer made by an institution in the country to treat him citing “Pakistan does not have enough facilities” signifies there is a lot requiring change in our social sector.

Wrestler Inam Butt and weightlifter Nooh Dastgir Butt, who clinched a gold and a bronze medal, respectively at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games held last month have also mentioned the lack of facilities provided to them by the government in the lead-up to the Games. Only personal hard work and self-financing enabled them to earn the medals.

Another such case is of karateka Saadi Abbas who has also made Pakistan proud recently by becoming the first South Asian player to who attain the 10th ranking in the Karate-1 Premier League.

However, to maintain this position or to move further ahead, Saadi needs sponsors. Unfortunately, he missed out on a league in Morocco, mainly because he had no sponsor, which will no doubt affect his 10th ranking in the future. Despite his appeal, the government has not yet given any concrete response to Saadi in this regard.

During the last several years the Punjab government time and again has also been claiming of building hundreds of stadiums and sports complexes. However, hardly it could offer any specific policy for the promotion and development of athletes.

The system of maintaining old and outdated sports infrastructure has also damaged sports in Pakistan. If the scenario remains the same development in the country’s sports in all probability will remain a daydream.

If anyone reads the constitution of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), he will find that it is responsible to provide coaches, trainers, infrastructure and other facilities to athletes. However, the annual PSB budget is less than Rs1 billion and a major chunk of even this amount is consumed on meeting administration’s expenses.

Unless athletes are provided with best training, coaching, gear and diet, better-equipped sports infrastructure alone cannot make its contribution for the betterment of sports.

There are media reports that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is going to hold a meeting with sports stakeholders in Islamabad during the first week of May. Hopefully, along with other related issues genuine problems faced by the country’s athletes of all disciplines also come under discussion at this meeting.

India, Pakistan’s arch-rival, has made significant progress in sports development during recent years. They have done it by heavily investing on infrastructure as well as facilitating their athletes. No wonder India remained third on the final medals table at the Gold Coast Games. This is a sign that India will emerge as a major force in this year’s Asian Games.

Meanwhile, when contacted for his word on the recent government announcement of building of 100 stadiums, POA president retired Lt Gen Arif Hasan said, “Building stadiums without a coherent infrastructure development plan and policy would be a waste of money and resources.

“Will they be multi-purpose or single purpose? Have we carried out a census on how many stadiums have been built unto now and what state are they in now? If at all stadiums are built they should, for the time being, built in major cities/provincial capitals only and should be of international standard,” Arif added.

“Instead of stadiums, a greater number of playing grounds should be made available in each ward/union/tehsil/district. These should be close to the schools/colleges etc and those should have grass, watering system and a few men to maintain it. Should have lights so that the facility could be used during hot weather.

“Modern equipment is required to train on. Our weightlifters could have performed even better [on Gold coast] had they been trained on latest equipment, and nutrition is also a key aspect,” the POA chief added.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2018