Kicking off in 2019, the FIH Pro League is the flagship event of the International Hockey Federation. The event, held annually, is contested by the top nine teams of field hockey-playing nations in a round-robin format, with each side playing the other twice.

The initial four editions of the competition saw the same nine nations in action. Then, the first FIH Nations Cup was introduced in 2022. Teams ranked below the Pro League participants competed in it. The winner of the Nations Cup replaces the bottom team of the previous edition of the FIH Pro League.

At the 2025 Nations Cup, Pakistan had finished second, losing to New Zealand 2-6 in the final. However, New Zealand withdrew from the 2025-2026 Pro League, citing financial constraints, providing Pakistan with an opportunity to feature in the Pro League for the first time.

In its present format, the Pro League is held in multiple legs at various venues. Three teams play each other twice at one venue in each leg. Hence, every team plays 16 matches, spread over four legs at as many venues.

Given a financial lifeline and a spot in hockey’s premier event, the Pakistan team looked set for a comeback. But the opportunity was squandered before the first match even began…

Pakistan, the record four-time World Cup winners, have been out of mainstream hockey for a long time. They failed to qualify for the last three Olympics and two of the last three World Cups. The FIH Pro League provided an opportunity for the national team to feature in the top tier of international hockey. 

BROKE BUT BAILED OUT

The Pro League’s format dictates that participation entails a big expenditure. The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has been carrying around the begging bowl for more than a decade and a half. The federal and provincial governments have helped with special grants. Then there are the corruption charges, against PHF officials who have held the all-important offices of president and secretary since 2009, including the present secretary, Rana Mujahid.

In fact, only this August, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination constituted a sub-committee to examine the financial irregularities and governance issues of the PHF.

The importance of the Pro League for the future of Pakistan hockey was not lost on former stalwarts and the lovers of the game, who pleaded with the government to take this chance seriously and send the team to feature in the event.

Eventually, in August, the government decided to release the funds, a whopping Rs225 million — a sum never allocated before for any national team to feature in an event.

Now, the ball was in the PHF’s court. The other eight sides in the Pro League 2025-26 are ranked between one and eight. Pakistan’s ranking is 14th.  Hence, the enormity of the task.

No one expected Pakistan to vie for the top positions. The realistic aim was to avoid the wooden spoon and hence stay in the Pro League for the next edition. And to put up a good fight in all the matches, regardless of the result.

With Pakistan’s matches of the Pro League’s first leg in Argentina starting from December 9, the PHF had time. Preparations should have been carried out on a war footing.

MISSING MORE THAN A BEAT

In hockey today, the goalkeeper holds the most vital position. Studies reveal that, in elite men’s international matches, there are, on average, 35 circle entries. Almost half of them result in a goal attempt (shot on target or a penalty corner award).

There are goal-keeper academies in top hockey-playing nations. In the Netherlands, the world’s top-ranked team, there are many such academies. One of them is the SGK (Salman Goalkeeper Academy), run by Pakistan’s former hockey captain Salman Akbar, who represented the country under the bar for more than a decade (2001-2013). In 2018, the Japanese national men’s team hired Akbar for a few weeks to prepare for the Asian Games. Japan won its first and only gold to date in hockey at the Asian Games that year.

In international hockey, penalty corners account for more than one-third of all goals scored. Pakistani legend Sohail Abbas, the ‘King of the Dragflick’ is the all-time leading goalscorer in international men’s hockey, with 348 goals. Last year, he signed a contract with the Malaysian Hockey Confederation to enhance players’ penalty corner skills.

The services of Salman Akbar and Sohail Abbas could have been hired by the PHF as well for a few weeks.

PILING ON THE MISERY  

There is no substitute for good competition in preparation for a big event. Test matches against some European countries, not in the Pro League, such as Ireland and France, should have been arranged. 

Only a fool would have expected something of this sort from the PHF, being ruled by the shameless and incompetent duo of President Tariq Bugti and Secretary Rana Mujahid. Rather than taking any of these steps, their one act dashed all hopes. They appointed Anjum Saeed as the manager of the Pakistan team.

This is the same Anjum Saeed who was banned, in May 2025, for one year on corruption charges by the President PHF Tariq Bugti himself. The charges against him included taking bribes for team selections in domestic events. The team manager is the custodian of discipline, yet the PHF appointed a person banned by itself, and that too without him even completing the duration of the ban.

DISAPPOINTING BUT EXPECTED

Hence, it was no surprise to see Pakistan failing in the first leg of the Pro League in Argentina. Apart from a narrow 2-3 defeat in one match against the hosts, the Green Shirts were mauled in the other matches: 1-5 against Argentina, and 2-5 and 3-7 against Holland.      

To add insult to injury, the habitual offender Anjum Saeed was caught smoking in the airplane on the return journey, while the flight was refuelling at Rio de Janeiro airport in Brazil. This led to Anjum being offloaded mid-journey. Ironically, Anjum Saeed was a PIA employee for over three decades and even worked in the airline’s vigilance department. He returned to Pakistan two days later, reportedly after paying a heavy fine.

GOING DOWN UNDER

What next? Pakistan’s next matches in the Pro League’s second leg start in Australia from February 11. With a sensible and capable manager and some serious preparation, especially in the vital areas, the team may yet show improved performance. 

The promotion/relegation was introduced in the Pro League two editions ago. Both times, the promoted team got relegated in its first season. Barring some miracle, Pakistan’s fate will likely be no different.

So, perhaps, there is no light at the end of the tunnel for Pakistan hockey, unless the PHF gets competent persons in its top two slots.

The writer is a freelance sports journalist based in Lahore. X: @IjazChaudhry1 Email: ijaz62@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 28th, 2025