LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Fede­ration (PHF) has requested the Inter­national Hockey Federation (FIH) to grant a second extension for allowing Pakis­tan to confirm its participation in the Pro League as the matter of funds provision for the said league between the PHF and the government is yet to be decided.

The PHF had sought a fund of Rs350 million from the government to meet the expenditure of the Pro League, which will provide Pakistan a nice opportunity to play against higher-ranked teams. First, the PHF received FIH’s deadline of Aug 12 when New Zealand, the winners of the FIH Nations Cup held in Kuala Lumpur in June, withdrew from the event due to paucity of funds.

Subsequently, the FIH invited Pakis­tan – the runners-up of the FIH Nations Cup to fill in the vacated spot. On PHF’s request, the FIH extended the confirmation date to Aug 20 from Aug 12.

“We have written a letter to the FIH, requesting to further extend the deadline as some points regarding the provision of the funds are still to be settled between the federal government and the PHF,” PHF secretary Rana Mujahid told reporters in Lahore on Wednesday.

“The PHF and the government are moving in the right direction to settle all the points. Hopefully in the next few days the federation will be in a position to confirm the entry to the FIH for the Pro League,” the secretary added.

He continued, “We are thankful to the FIH, Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) ministry, Pakistan Sports Board and the Finance Ministry, which have announced to give full cooperation to the PHF to promote the game of hockey.

“The way we are moving forward, many positive signals indicate that the Pakistan team will be part of the Pro League next year,” Mujahid stated.

“Few papers are in the phase of preparation at the federal level and once that is completed we will be in a position to officially declare the participation of Pakistan in the Pro League.”

The nine-nation Pro League will be held from December 2025 to June 2026.

Answering a question, Mujahid acknowledged that the funds for the Pro League will not be given directly to the PHF.

“Yes we have expressed our consent to the IPC not to give any fund directly to the PHF as the government could spend the money on its own on providing air tickets, accommodation and setting up camps for the national team,” the secretary said.

“And if any PHF official goes abroad along with the national squad, the PHF will be responsible for the expenses of that official,” he added.

It may be mentioned here that from 2008 to 2022 the PHF received hefty funds from the federal government. The Auditor General of Pakistan had raised several objections over the spending of these funds.

“Our [primary] target is to provide maximum international matches to our players; we don’t need funds from the government in our kitty,” Mujahid said.

“We have estimated that funds to the tune of Rs350 million will be required to meet the expenses for participating in the Pro-League. I don’t know what amount the government will sanction.

“The PHF will also try to hire the services of some sponsor to meet all requirements of the national team.”

Mujahid also thanked Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi for making an announcement regarding provision of some facilities for the hockey players.

The FIH in 2019 started the Pro-League for which Pakistan had also confirmed its entry. However, the government did not issue funds for the League and the country could not participate. It resulted in a heavy fine imposed on the PHF by the FIH and Pakistan’s ranking in international hockey also declined sharply.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2025