The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has consistently voiced concerns about financial constraints impeding its participation in international competitions. However, a letter from the PHF itself reveals that the federation maintains a bank balance amounting to millions of rupees.
Reliable sources indicate that the PHF requested government funds totaling $51,296 to cover accommodation expenses at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur during the “FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup 2025.” This request was made despite the federation’s significant bank reserves.
In response, the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) proactively arranged only the air tickets for the national team’s participation in the event. Subsequently, the PHF informed the Pakistan Sports Board that it indeed possessed the necessary funds for hotel accommodation in its account, and accordingly sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for remitting the foreign currency for the said payment from the Finance Ministry and the State Bank of Pakistan.
It is noteworthy that over the past two years, the PSB has disbursed a substantial sum of Rs119.667 million to the PHF. Sources within the PSB stated that despite numerous written reminders, the federation has failed to submit any auditable financial accounts. Consequently, during a board meeting held in December 2024, the PSB resolved to withhold any additional funding until the PHF ensures complete financial transparency.
Sources further reveal that the PSB has compiled a detailed report on this matter and has forwarded it to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination for further high-level deliberation.
When contacted, DG PSB Yasir Pirzada declined to comment specifically on PHF affairs. However, he stated that the PSB has decided that henceforth, funding will only be provided to those federations that furnish complete details of audited accounts. “We have linked funding with the performance of federations and the audit of already provided funds. No new funds will be released for any federation until the record of previously allocated funds is provided,” he affirmed.
The previous PHF administration faced serious corruption allegations, which led to the initiation of an inquiry by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). In February of this year, a group of Olympians publicly demanded that the federal government pursue the FIA inquiry to a logical conclusion. Olympians Nasir Ali, Ayaz Mahmood, Khalid Bashir, Kaleemullah, and others, during their press conference in Islamabad in February, urged for an early conclusion of the FIA probe. The Olympians claimed that the PHF received more funds from 2008 to 2024 than it did from 1947 to 2008. The FIA is currently investigating 113 audit paras of the PHF, amounting to Rs1.25 billion.
