ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) on Wednesday decided that a letter highlighting the rationale and objective of the national team’s participation in the 2025-26 FIH Pro League will be sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for final decision after the International Hockey Federation invited the country for the event.
The Pro League matter was discussed in the 34th meeting of PSB board, which met in Islamabad with Adviser to Prime Minister on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Rana Sanaullah in the chair.
During the meeting, the participants were told that that PSB had no funds for the said event. However, the federal government could be asked for funds. The meeting decided that the matter would be taken up with the finance ministry and with the PM as well.
“Concerning the invitation to participate in the FIH Pro League, [the] members authorised the PSB president Rana Sanaullah to take the final decision. It was agreed that a formal letter, outlining the rationale and objectives of participation, would be sent by the PSB President to the Prime Minister,” read a press release issued after the PSB meeting.
Earlier on Wednesday, the FIH formally invited Pakistan to participate in the Pro League after New Zealand withdrew from the event.
According to the FIH website, after Hockey New Zealand notified the world governing body of their decision not to participate in the Pro League despite having won the FIH Hockey Nations Cup last month, the FIH, in accordance with the regulations, extended an invitation to Pakistan, the Nations Cup runners-up, to join the 2025-26 Pro League edition.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has been given a deadline of Aug 12 to inform the FIH of its decision to accept or deny the invitation.
If Pakistan eventually decide to participate in the Pro League, they will face Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, India, Netherlands and Spain in the competition that will be held from December 2025 to June 2026.
While the PHF faces significant shortage of funds, recently the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) asked the federation to submit the details of the funds it received from the government during the past 12 months.
The main financial resource of the PHF is the PSB. However, at present the relations between these the institutions are far from normal.
The PHF, which was expecting a Pro League invitation from the FIH, estimated initially that it required approximately Rs700 million (around $2.5 million) to meet the expenses of participating in the League where the teams will compete on home and away basis.
Though the participation cost of Rs700 million does not seem huge if compared with the advantages the Pro League can give to Pakistan hockey, there is uncertainty over the future of incumbent PHF officials particularly after the PSB sought the details of PHF accounts of the last one year.
The PHF, mainly due to its ill-planning and lack of support from the federal government missed the chance of playing the inaugural edition of the Pro League in 2019.
The PHF, then led by president retired Brig Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, first sent the entry but later declined to participate after making the confirmation due to paucity of funds. Brig Khokhar sent the entry to the FIH but later failed to convince then federal sports minister Fahmida Mirza to release funds to ensure Pakistan’s participation in the Pro League. As a result, the FIH imposed a fine of 170,000 euros on the PHF.
OTHER PSB DECISIONS
According to the PSB press release, the Board meeting ended with several key decisions aimed at promoting transparency in sports governance and safeguarding the rights of young athletes.
The Board cancelled the provisional registrations of the tchoukball, paragliding and hand gliding and canoeing federations due to their failure to submit required documents related to post-affiliation.
The board also made the registration of basketball, long range, and archery federations conditional, directing them to get registration process from the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan completed. The archery body was also directed to verify its election records through the PSB.
The press release said that PSB Board approved the Sports Funding Regulations, the establishment of a contributory pension fund, cancellation of initial registrations of three federations, and set an upper age limit of 70 years for office-bearers of national sports federations.
The PSB Board decided to assign oversight of futsal to the Pakistan Football Federation, recognising it as a football-related sport. The case of the Blind Sports Federation was referred to the Panel of Adjudicators for further review. A sub-committee was also formed to evaluate the inclusion of mountaineering in the list of national sports.
The Board appreciated PSB director general Muhammad Yasser Pirzada’s initiative to formulate a policy aimed at preventing age fraud among junior athletes, recognising it as a major step towards transparency and merit in sports.
Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2025
