The Pakistan Hockey Federation is facing intense scrutiny after allegations of mismanaging funds allocated for the national team's accommodation during the FIH Pro League in Australia surfaced, causing significant hardship for players.
Key Points
- Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) received over 10 million rupees from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for team accommodation in Australia.
- The Pakistan hockey team faced significant issues in Australia, including a long wait at Sydney airport and lack of hotel booking in Canberra, despite the funds being allocated.
- The PSB has provided proof of payment to the PHF for accommodation and allowances, contradicting the PHF's denial of any issues.
- The PHF has a history of financial scrutiny, and officials were unavailable for comment on the latest allegations.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has found itself in hot waters after the state-run Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has confirmed that it had given the sports body more than 10 million rupees to arrange for hotel accommodation of the national team in Australia.
The PHF and PSB have been under fire after it came to light that the Pakistan hockey team had to wait for 13-14 hours at Sydney airport as the federation had not arranged for any accommodation or food for the players and officials at the airport before their onward flight to Canberra.
The Pakistan team had to endure a chaotic start to their FIH Pro League campaign after being left without hotel accommodation upon arrival in Canberra, reportedly due to unpaid bills by the PHF.
After travelling for nearly 24 hours from Lahore to Australia's capital ahead of the second leg of the Pro League, the players and support staff reached the designated four-star hotel, where they were informed that no booking existed in their name.
The players had to wait for hours outside the hotel with their luggage before immigrant Pakistanis in Canberra arranged for cheap Airnb accommodation.
Next day Pakistan lost 2-2 in their first match against Australia.
PSB Confirms Payment to PHF
The PSB has now issued a photocopy of the cheque for 10 million and 5 lakh rupees it issued to the PHF on January 28 to pay for the hotel accommodation.
This confirms that the PSB had done its bit by paying for the air tickets of the team and also for the hotel accommodation and had also issued daily allowances to the players in advance.
The PSB took care of all expenses for the Pro League after the government approved a special grant of more than 30 million rupees for the tournament.
PHF's Response and History of Scrutiny
The PHF, on its part, kept on denying that the players and officials faced any difficulties in Australia and have dubbed it as an attempt to demoralise the team.
This is not the first time the PHF officials have come under scrutiny for financial matters and despite best efforts, no federation official was available for comment.
Pakistan also lost their last game in the FIH Pro League to Germany 0-3.
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