PHF to nationalize hockey, expanding from province to province

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) wants to nationalize the sport of hockey, suggesting a comprehensive plan to expand the national game from province to province.

PHF secretary Asif Bajwa said they want to nationalize hockey so that it could be played in each province of the country. “Each province should host at least two tournaments,” he said.

Asif Bajwa said that the PHF selection committee has been tasked to hunt for new talent.

“We want to add seven to eight national level tournaments in domestic hockey that will be spread to different venues of the country so that hockey can be seen being played everywhere, from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Sindh and Baluchistan to Punjab,” he said.

Asif Bajwa said that Pakistan would also have a “Whites” team, along with a national squad and a junior team to prepare for the next Junior World Cup”.

“We are also launching our program for 2025 Junior World Cup,” he said and added, “We have set our eyes on the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris”.

Bajwa said, “We have set Olympics 2024 as our target and have been planning to be at medals podium in the Olympics in 2024”.

The PHF boss, however, noted that he had still not given up hopes for the team’s qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. “We will know by next month about our tournament,” he said.

“We will play our best shot and try to qualify for the next Olympics,” he said adding that it was good to see hockey back in action and terming the national hockey championship a “satisfying sight”.

Asif Bajwa further said that hockey was their national sport and it was so unfortunate that they were not able to hold a national championship in the last two years. “We have started resuming activities and we are heading towards a direction in a befitting manner,” he said.