Promising players in the academies are part of the Pakistan Whites team, which is basically an eleven-man reserve unit for the national team. -Photo by APP

SALTA, ARGENTINA The President of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Qasim Zia has said that the national federation is making positive strides towards the revival of the national sport in the country even with its limited financial capacity and international support.

According to him, time and a little bit more federal assistance would ensure a broader base for the game in the country.

'We have made significance progress for the revival and development of the game by taking drastic measures and we will continue our efforts with undying spirit to lift hockey out of the present gloom,' he told APP on Saturday.

'The government is always behind us and we look forward to it for its continuous backing. With yearly financial assistance we will be able to continue our development programmes to ensure a better future of hockey,' he said.

'Starting from scratch wasn't easy, obviously, but we seem to be on the right track.'

The PHF under the leadership of the former Olympian recently introduced a national Under-19 tournament and expanded its academies out of Lahore and Islamabad to the other parts of the country. The academies have already bore fruit, feeding players like Shafqat Rasool and Haseem Khan to the national setup.

Promising players in the academies are part of the Pakistan Whites team, which is basically an eleven-man reserve unit for the national team.

'The task assigned to us is challenging but we are fully committed to better the sagging fortunes of hockey and I am confident that in next four years we will be among the top teams of the world,' he said.

Zia said it was unfortunate that Pakistan is having to play in qualifying tournament of the World Cup but also reiterated that the team would soon regain a position among top six teams of the world.

'PHF has evolved a system to strengthen the institution by introducing reforms and recent scrutiny of clubs and elections of bodies across the country were a part of it to give control of the game at various levels to those individuals who are really keen and motivated to promote hockey,' he added.

'Through scrutiny, which was conducted by former hockey player, bogus clubs were eliminated and only those clubs were formally registered which were supplementing their efforts for the cause of hockey.'

Qasim Zia said progress achieved by the present regime of PHF has started producing results and Pakistan team is gradually blending into a formidable combination.

'Winning major tournaments will breathe a new life into our game. Due to the downfall of our team in the past decade, and no major title victory to its credit, the interest of youth has diminished.'

'The coming years are very important for the future of hockey as we will have finished products from our hockey academies and the talent will be inducted in junior teams with ample choice available for selection,' he said.

PHF will soon announce a programme to keep engaged those players who attend the academies for three years and are ready to join college after passing matric exam.

It will also form a wing in the national federation to monitor the activities of clubs.

Those clubs, districts or provincial bodies who would fail to contribute to the development of the game will have no association with PHF or the game, stated Zia.