LAHORE: Director Development and Domestic, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF)Naveed Alam has reiterated that the three-phase process of Inter Club Competition, Club’s Scrutiny and Elections will go a long way in putting the domestic hockey structure in the right place and thus help reinvigorate Pakistan’s national sport.

He was addressing a press conference at the National Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday.

“The PHF desires that genuine hockey clubs and players as well as game’s true lovers and patrons get due recognition and representation,” he said.

“The PHF is committed to streamlining hockey affairs in the larger interest of the game and these efforts are part of it.”

The inter-club competition is being organised in all 144 districts of Pakistan and it will serve as an effective medium to unearth a wide range of hockey talent to expand the base of the game, he added.

“It has already started at several places and will hopefully finish by the end of this month,” he said adding, “However, considering the enormity of the task, it may be extended for a few days.” These inter-club competitions will be conducted under the supervision of the PHF and will include technical delegates, observers and district sports officers.

“We will ensure that club championship is organised in a way in which genuine clubs take part,” he said.

Once, the inter club is over, the scrutiny process will start and the entire process will be conducted in a transparent manner, said the PHF official.

The teams will be photographed. Each club will have its own ground with a minimum of 14 active players. All the matches will be video recorded. This will help to judge if the club has genuine players. The club is restricted to have a maximum of three departmental players.

“The players’ CNIC/B forms will be authenticated and they will be registered only at the place of his domicile,” he added.

The former Olympian said the scrutiny committees have almost been finalised and will soon be announced by the Chief Election Commissioner whose name will be announced in a few days.

“The last phase of the Elections will be held the same day in all the districts throughout the country. Only the clubs identified as genuine will be allowed to participate in the elections,” he said.

The district elections will be followed by divisional, provincial and national elections in that sequence.

He said that PHF President Brigadier (retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar has emphasised that the whole process should be transparent with full implementation of the laid-down procedures.

Answering a question, Director Development and Domestic agreed that many people would get unhappy during this process. “You can’t satisfy everyone when conducting an exercise to get rid of bogus clubs and people with self interests, who are least bothered by Pakistan hockey’s decline.”

“The entire process has been approved by the PHF Congress and Executive Board,” he added.—APP

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2018