South African visas were provided to Pakistan hockey squad with FM Bilawal's backing

South African visas were provided to Pakistan hockey squad with FM Bilawal’s backing

Web Desk

24th Nov, 2022. 12:00 am
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South African visas were provided to Pakistan hockey squad with FM Bilawal's backing

With the assistance of Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, visas for the Pakistan hockey team have been obtained for South Africa.

Because of some unforeseen technical difficulties, the players’ and officials’ visa applications were held up. In this regard, the provincial minister for Sindh, Nasir Hussain Shah, had a conversation with the minister of foreign affairs, Bilawal, who ensured that the national team received their visas in a timely manner.

The Pakistan national football team is expected to compete in the Nations Cup in South Africa. It is anticipated that the squad will leave for the event later tonight.

The problems with the funding were overcome as a result of the assurances provided by the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). According to several sources, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has been successful in raising cash.

PHF’s secretary Haider Hussain expressed his disappointment in the lack of support from the government earlier in the day.

“It [hockey] only needs a bit of time. I have told the Pakistani government to just give us one and a half years and we will get stable and emerge as a big product. We have also asked to meet him [Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif] so that we can tell him future plans for hockey,” said Hussain.

“Our team did not slide down from 10 to 18 in rankings by playing a game, it happened because we didn’t play the Hockey Pro League,” he added.