Pakistan’s Hockey captain, Ammad Butt has been dropped from the FIH Hockey 5s World Cup squad after the conclusion of the Olympics Qualifiers in Muscat, Oman.
Ammad’s exclusion surprised the fans as the captain was one of the better Pakistani players in the qualifiers and also scored one of the goals of the tournament against Malaysia in the group stage.
Pakistan hockey captain Ammad Butt, who scored a sensational goal in the Paris Olympics Qualifiers, has been dropped from the squad for the upcoming FIH Hockey 5s World Cup ❌
Like always no reason provided by PHF but I think we all know what happened. #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/Xv1f7qOIZZ
— Muneeb Farrukh (@Muneeb313_) January 23, 2024
The 28-year-old ran into trouble with the PHF higher-ups after his post on social media regarding Hockey players not getting salaries for six months. Ammad highlighted that the players were finding it difficult to pursue their passion for Hockey without adequate facilities and salary payments on time.
The captain and midfielder of the Pakistan Hockey team emphasized, the systematic and institutional issues in PHF stating in an Instagram Post, “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 Hockey 5s World Cup Squad will be without the services of their talismanic midfielder and seems like he has been ousted from the squad in the aftermath of his social media post. It will be a grueling event for the Pakistan team with lots of challenges and will be held from January 28 till January 31.
The incompetence of the Pakistan Hockey Federation has played a pivotal role in the deterioration of Pakistan Hockey, where players give their blood, sweat, and heart out for the game, but the federation never has the means to cater to the financial and sporting needs of the player.
Over the past few decades, the Hockey Federation has been strapped for cash and funding, not being able to even help the team book flight tickets to India for Hockey World Cup 2018 or Paris Olympic Qualifiers in Oman this year. Both events were sponsored by owners of Pakistan Super League Franchises, Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars respectively.
