ISLAMABAD, May 11 The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has decided to start a bilateral promotional hockey project with the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF).

“We will be playing a series of tournaments, an internal league and a champions league on the lines of the European Soccer League with India soon after the IHF elections. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will shortly be signed with IHF officials,” PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa told Dawn on Tuesday.

Arch rivals Pakistan and India had suspended playing bilateral hockey series in 2006 while there has been no contact between the two sides after the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November 2008, when India refused to send their junior team to Pakistan due to their security concerns.

Later, in a tit-for-tat step, Pakistan, too, pulled out of the four-nation tournament in Chandigarh in January 2009.

Bajwa said that Pakistan would play back-to-back tournaments with India while the internal league semi-finalists in both countries would feature in a regional hockey tournament.

The internal league matches, he said, would prove helpful in Pakistan and Indias exchanging technical officials and umpires, too.

Bajwa was confident that the promotional sports project between the two countries would become a successful venture.

“The cash-rich Champions League will give an opportunity to regional and international players while also helping the PHF and IHF to generate a better income,” said the former Olympian.

The project will involve junior and senior players as well as women hockey players from both countries.

Bajwa said that the modalities were yet to be finalised. “However, a proposal in this regard is already with the Indian hockey officials. We are only waiting for them to hold their elections in order to be able to negotiate the 'Terms of References' with the new team that takes charge.”

If everything works according to plan, he said, hockey in Asian countries would surely cruise towards betterment.

While commenting on the current steps taken by the management for the betterment of hockey in Pakistan, Bajwa pointed out “Besides offering good packages to the emerging professional hockey players here, the federation is already working on strengthening the financial and marketing base of Pakistan hockey.”