The federal government has ordered its departments to suspend financing their sports teams until March 2022, as it plans to divert the resources to promote games at the regional level under new policies.
According to The News, the decision was made in a high-level meeting among officials of the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination and the federal divisions concerned. The decision is applicable to all sports activities, including domestic sports events.
The participants were told that the federal government would enlighten them on how the departmental sports budget could be used at the regional level.
Officials from Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Railways, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), and Higher Education Commission (HEC) also attended the meeting.
Following the discussion in the meeting, the participants expressed their views. One of the participants expressed a fear that if the federal government’s strategy was adopted, the departmental sports teams would get closed.
Amidst the prevailing uncertainty about the future of departmental sports events at the federal level, no instruction has come to the fore about the future of the players of various disciplines.
