PESHAWAR, Sept 23 (APP): Pakistan Hockey Federation has devised a comprehensive plan under Vision 2020 to revive and rejuvenate hockey in the country.
This was stated by former Olympian Naveed Alam while talking to APP on Friday.
Naveed Alam, Director Development and Domestic and Chief Coordinator said that the vital part of the revive club hockey is to involve schools all across the country so that to spot out new faces in the hockey.
He also appreciated President PHF Brig (Retd) Sajjad Kokkar and hockey artisan Olympian Shahab Ahmad Senior, members PHF Congress for extending support to him for the revive of the Vision-2020, which was once introduced in 2006 but was not implemented.
“I will also monitor the whole event,” Naveed Alam said, adding, Clubs were a very important segment and constitute the basic unit of the edifice of Pakistan hockey.
He said, in the past, Pakistan’s hockey successes owed a lot to the clubs.
The domestic club scene was very active and competitive in the past, he added.
The club, he said, played a role of nursery in producing quality players and there was no shortage of talent available to the national sides besides a wider pool for the selection.
He said, the Pakistan Hockey Federation was desires to recreate the same old club culture, hence, the Inter-Club competitions are being organized at all the levels and they will be a permanent fixture of the PHF’s annual calendar.
About the format, he said, Inter Club “District” Hockey Championships to be followed by the Inter Club at Divisional level and then the Provincial.
It would culminate at the National level where the top clubs emerging from the provincial competition would participate for the title of the National Club Champion, which would also be sent to some competition outside Pakistan, he disclosed.
He said, the whole event will be organized under the patronage of the PHF as per the rules and regulations of the game.
The Provincial Hockey Associations have been told to organize the Preliminary Rounds of the Inter-Club Championship at the district and divisional level in their respective provinces as per the following schedule, he said.
The Inter-Club at District level will be starting from October 24 to 31, followed by Inter-Club at Divisional level to be played from November 3 to 10, 2016 while the Inter-Club at Provincial level will be kicking off from November 13 to 21 and the Inter-Club at National level will be organized from November 24 to December 2.
About the format at national level, he said there will be three clubs from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four clubs from Punjab, top two clubs from Balochistan, top three clubs from Sindh, one club each from Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and FATA.
Naveed Alam said that the prime objective of the entire exercise is to broaden the base of the game by having an increased pool of players for every position to infuse fresh blood in the national teams besides finding timely replacements for the outgoing players.
He said a data of the players to be part of the Club would also be established.
The short-listed players would go through a rigorous training and coaching program under qualified coaches, he concluded.
