LAHORE (Kashmir English): Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) have announced plans for a countrywide Schools Hockey League aimed at developing young players and rebuilding the pathway to the national teams.
The League will begin on November 15, with tehsil, district and divisional rounds taking place simultaneously across the country.
The provincial competitions are scheduled for January, followed by the national round in February.
The prospects were discussed at a consultative meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday. The IPC secretary and the PHF chief Mohiyuddin Ahmed Wani chared the meeting.
Representatives from school education and sports departments in all four provinces, Islamabad capital territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan attended the meeting.
Wani urged meeting participants to treat the League’s implementation as a national responsibility, recalling Pakistan’s past achievements in hockey and the sport’s status as the country’s national game.
Schools Hockey League will operate under PHF
The competition structure and key features state that the League will operate under the PHF, with its own chief executive officer and a steering committee chaired by the federation’s president.
Organisers believe that the competition will provide young players with a pathway towards national-team selection while offering financial and development opportunities.
Under the plan, players from top three teams will receive monthly stipends of Rs10,000, Rs7,500 and Rs5,000 respectively for one year.
The winning team and selected players will also be given opportunities to undertake international tours.
Each year, 100 boys and 100 girls will be selected for summer camps featuring hockey coaching, fitness training and academic tutoring.
