Pakistan’s hockey captain, Ammad Butt, revealed that the national players have not been paid for the last six months by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF).
In the wake of the 3-2 defeat against New Zealand in the last quarter where the Green Shirts failed to qualify for the third successive Olympic games, Ammad Butt highlighted the discrepancies in PHF as an institution.
The captain emphasized the fact that the Pakistan players play for passion and it is getting adequately hard for them to pursue their passion, as their dues haven’t been cleared for the last six months.
Ammad Butt also emphasized the lack of facilities provided by the system to the Pakistani players and urged the fans to support the team continuously as they hoped to perform well in future tournaments.
He lamented while highlighting the incompetency of PHF, “I want to tell you one thing the boys have not been paid for the last six months. They played without facilities, without government support, without any sponsorship without any media coverage, and no proper professional system.”
“The boys are giving their blood and sweat, they played with their heart for Pakistan but the way we are treated it’s unfair. Hockey is our national game so please treat us like national heroes” he concluded.
The skipper also stressed the fact that the hockey players had been facing these problems for the last 10 years and he wondered how many years it takes for institutions to get sorted so that they can function professionally. He asked for extended support from the fans and thanked them.
Pakistan previously failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics 2016, and Tokyo 2020.
Pakistan lost 6-1 to Great Britain, after securing a victory against China and then drew 3-3 against Malaysia. The Shaheens finished second in the group and met World Champions Germany in the semis of the Olympic Qualifiers where they suffered a huge defeat by 4-0. Eventually, the fell short of the Olympic qualification berth at the hands of New Zealand.
