Pakistani players complain: Before a big tournament like the World Cup, the players of Pakistan hockey team are going through a very bad phase. On one hand, while the players are preparing to bring glory to the country by sweating on the field, on the other hand they are struggling for basic needs and money.
The poor condition of the Pakistan Hockey Federation can be gauged from the fact that not only the outstanding money of the previous tournaments, the players are now getting huge cuts in their daily food and training allowances.
Training camp allowance reduced to nominal
The biggest reason for the displeasure of Pakistani hockey players is the huge cut in their daily allowance. Earlier, players used to get 11 US dollars i.e. about 3000 Pakistani rupees daily during the training camp. Now the Federation has reduced it to just 3.5 dollars i.e. about 1000 Pakistani rupees, which is equivalent to only 335 rupees in Indian currency.
In this matter, the players clearly say that in today’s era, it is impossible to afford international level diet and training in such a small amount. One player expressed grief and said that giving such low allowance to the national level players is a direct insult to them, due to which the morale of the entire team is breaking.
Big promises on foreign tours
Seeing the matter escalating, the interim board of Pakistan Hockey Federation has tried to control the damage. The federation has announced that players and officials will be paid a daily allowance of US$110 on upcoming overseas tours, which will also include the World Cup qualifying event in Egypt. However, the players do not have any confidence in these claims of the board.
On the condition of anonymity, a senior player said that the Federation officials have made such empty promises many times in the past, but when it comes to paying the money, everyone backs out. The team says that until this amount actually comes into their hands or bank accounts, they will not accept these things as true.
20 member team declared without captain
The displeasure of the players is not limited to money only, but the strange decisions of the Federation have also increased their concern. Pakistan announced its 20-member squad for the FIH Pro League matches to be held next month, but made no mention of who will be given the command of the team.
Shakeel Ahmed Butt was continuously captaining the team since the beginning of last year, but this time the silence of the board on the name of the captain has created confusion and dissatisfaction among the players.
Pakistani team selected for FIH Pro League
- Goalkeeper: Waqar Ali, Ali Raza.
- Defenders: Abu Bakar, Arbaaz Ahmed, Mohammad Abdullah, Sufiyan Khan.
- Midfielders: Nadeem Khan, Ammad Shakeel, Moeen Shakeel, Hammad Anjum, Zakaria Hayat.
- Forwards: Ghazanfar Ali, Mohammad Emmad, Rana Waleed, Afraz Khan, Rana Wahid, Abdur Rehman, Ahmed Nadeem, Arshad Liaquat, Hanan Shahid.
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