On Oct 20, 2008 the hockey federation at its Rawalpindi meeting overwhelmingly gave a vote of confidence to the newly-appointed PHF president Qasim Zia.

But the former Olympian faces a Herculean task, because Pakistan hockey has hit rock bottom.

Qasim Zia, one of the members of  Pakistan's victorious hockey team in the 1984 Los Angles Olympics, was appointed as the federation's president on Oct 15 by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who is patron-in-chef of the PHF, only two days after Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigned from the post after Pakistan's poor performance at the Beijing Olympics.

After his retirement from international hockey in 1987, Qasim Zia joined the Pakistan People's Party and is an MPA from Punjab. Being a part of Pakistan's golden era of the '80s, he was disappointed at the team's recent poor performances.

The new PHF chief, at his Rawalpindi press conference, set the target for improving Pakistan's performance both at Asian and world levels, during his four-year tenure as head of the federation. The immediate task facing the new set-up is to make sure that the Pakistani team performs well during the next year's (ninth) Junior (Under-21) World Cup to be jointly hosted by Singapore and Malaysia in June.

The current junior team is considered  a mediocre side with the exception of four to five players. The year 2010 will be more challenging as in that year Pakistan will be competing in the Asian Games in China and the World Cup in India, followed by other international as well as regional tournaments ending with the London Olympics in 2012.

The congress has approved a record annual budget of Rs373.3 million for the year 2009, but sources say the federation will need about Rs40 crore in four years for the promotion and development of national hockey. But considering the current financial crisis, whether the PHF would succeed in generating the required funds is anybody's guess. The prime minister has already announced a grant of Rs10 crore.

The team build-up for participating in major tournaments requires matches against leading foreign teams of the world in order to gain experience. But top teams are not prepared to come to Pakistan for security reasons despite

Islamabad's assurance of top security arrangements.

In such a difficult situation, Qasim Zia must ensure that foreign tours are confined to participation in quality

tournaments and series against the world's leading teams. Playing against weaker sides abroad would not raise Pakistan's competitive standard and would be a waste of foreign exchange.

The PHF must give top priority to club hockey and hockey played at the level of educational institutions to spot talent and broaden the base of selection. If Qasim Zia succeeds in achieving this objective it will be a great service to hockey, our national game.

The new PHF chief should bring together former Olympians, ex-internationals, and ex-provincial players committed to promoting and developing hockey at school level. This group headed by a renowned former Olympian could work out a plan in consultation with the federal and provincial education ministries, as without their cooperation and support the federation's plan cannot be implemented.

A monitoring committee is also required to oversee the implementation of the PHF's development programmes at the club and educational institutional level.

A revival of hockey activities at the club level throughout the country is the need of the hour.