Due to their participation in the recent Olympic qualifiers in Oman, Pakistan’s senior national team players have not received their contract salary or allowances for the last four to five months.—
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), a financially stressed national organization, has not paid its staff for the past six months, adding to their never-ending misery. Details reveal that all PHF workers at its Lahore headquarters and Karachi sub-office have been waiting for their salaries for the past six months. Since they haven’t received any medical benefits for the past six months, over 80 office and ground staff members are reportedly in terrible financial shape.
Even the national senior players, who even participated in the most recent Olympic qualifiers in Oman, have not received their contract salary or allowances for the last four to five months, which exacerbates the situation.
According to a source with knowledge of the events, Imad Shakeel Butt, the captain of Pakistan, and a few other players had disagreements with the team management during the qualifiers on the non-payment of their daily dues.
“At one stage Butt even threatened not to play further matches until the dailies were cleared,” according to a source.
The lowest point is that nobody is sure who is to blame for Pakistani hockey’s terrible state of affairs.
