LAHORE: Despite the passage of more than a year, the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has not paid the salary to national hockey team’s head coach Siegfried Aikman, Dawn has learnt on authority.

Aikmen, 63, was hired by the PSB on the recommendation of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) in November 2021 till November 2022 as head coach of Pakistan’s national senior and junior teams.

Aikman’s monthly salary is 10,000 euros and it was to be paid by the PSB, a source in the PHF said, adding “but so far the PHF could not release the salary”, which is denting country’s reputation in the world of hockey.

The Dutch coach is now entitled to receive a salary of Euro 130,000 for a 13-month period.

Though the PHF-PSB relationship has not been going through an exemplary period for the last six months, when Aikman was appointed both were enjoying good relations.

It is learnt that the PHF is also going through a financial crisis. Though the PHF is in contact with the PSB to release all the arrears of Aikman, so far no positive response in this regard has been received by the federation.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2022