In another embarrassing case of poor administration, the Pakistan National Hockey Team had been stranded on the streets of Canberra, Australia, after their hotel booking was cancelled suddenly due to non-payment. One of these has been a hockey-related controversy on the second leg of the FIH Pro League and it has been widely criticised in the media in terms of the financial and managerial disaster that the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is currently facing.
The team landed in the Australian capital last week, tired from a long trip from Lahore, and were told that their four-star accommodation had been locked away.
Disgrace Night: The Crisis in Action
According to reports the PHF and the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) had assured the players of payments made on their initial stay. But the truth was very different.
- Cancelled Bookings: When the team finally reached the hotel, management told them that payment had not been made and their booking was cancelled upon arrival.
- Hours on the Road: Players and officials were forced to wait on the sidewalks with their bags, facing long waits on the road, for hours. Tahir Zaman, a high-performance coach, had difficulty reaching officials back home because of the time difference and no money immediately available.
- Local Rescue: Eventually the local Pakistani community in Canberra offered rescue. The hotel limited the size of rooms offered after multiple conversations and community intervention.
- Overcrowded Rooms: As a result of the shortage, 2–3 players were made to share single hotel rooms leaving the athletes without the required rest that they needed while leading up to their high-stakes matches.
Impact on Performance
On the field, the psychological and physical toll of the incident was apparent. The next day a fatigued Pakistan side faced Australia, battling fiercely and eventually losing 2–3. This loss builds on a sad trend where the team has failed to win any of its six Pro League matches in a row now.
- Administrative Disaster: Smoking Scandals and Missing Managers. The embarrassment is compounded by the fact that now this team is away with no regular manager.
- Manager Fired: Former Olympian Anjum Saeed was recently sacked in response to an abuse which saw him allegedly caught smoking on a flight and a vicious tussle with airport security.
- Previous Failures: This isn't an isolated incident. The federation failed to pay daily allowances in Argentina’s first leg of the Pro League, resulting directly in players being in a serious financial crunch going to live overseas.
The Fall of a Giant
Pakistan was once the global powerhouse in Olympics and World Cup and now it is struggling to survive on any level from day one. The national sport is now infected by a toxic cocktail of political interference, a lack of funding and decades of mismanagement, and players remain the ultimate victims of a broken system.
