KARACHI: The Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) has sounded the alarm on Tuesday as it revealed a severe financial crisis jeopardizing the upcoming 2025-2026 snooker season and Pakistan’s participation in crucial international tournaments.

In a press release directed at the Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), the Association appealed for urgent intervention.

The PBSA stated it is on the brink of launching its new season but faces critical financial constraints impacting its ability to fund international participation, maintain the domestic circuit and cover essential secretariat expenditures.

The core issue, according to the PBSA, is the non-receipt of any financial assistance from the Pakistan Sports Board since July 2024, despite repeated international successes.

Highlighting its track record, the PBSA pointed to Pakistan’s snooker achievements since winning the IBSF World Title in Doha in 2024.

These include winning a Silver and a Bronze medal at the World 6-Red Men & World Cup Snooker Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (September 2024), securing the Gold medal at the IBSF World Men Snooker Championship in Doha, Qatar (October-November 2024); capturing a Gold and a Bronze at the third SAARC Snooker Championship in Colombo, Sri Lanka (January 2025); and earning a Bronze medal at the Asian Men & Under-21 Snooker Championships in Doha, Qatar (February 2025).

Despite these performances, the PBSA claims promised Special Grants for these events remain unreleased, forcing the Association to bear the participation costs “from its own resources”.

The PBSA expressed grave concern that without immediate financial relief, fulfilling Pakistan’s international commitments for 2025-2026 will be “extremely difficult”.

Specifically mentioned at risk are the Asian Team and 6-Red Snooker Championships in Sri Lanka (June 22-28), the Commonwealth Games in Mauritius (July 2-6), the World Under-17 and Under-21 Men and 6-Red Men Championships in Bahrain (July 13-24) and the World Games in China (August 7-17).

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2025