The Pakistan hockey team’s participation in the 2025-26 FIH Pro League lies in jeopardy because of financial crunch, derailing the three-time Olympic champions’ much-anticipated comeback at the international stage.
The Pakistan men’s hockey team, which has won the World Cup four times, has been invited to compete in the FIH Pro League 2025-26 after New Zealand, which had earned direct qualification by winning the 2024-25 Nations Cup, decided not to participate in the upcoming season.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH), the game’s governing body, formally extended the invitation to Pakistan on Wednesday and had given them a deadline till August 12 to inform their confirmation. Pakistan, which has failed to qualify for the last three Olympics and also World Cup, has been given an opportunity by the FIH to compete against top tier teams Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, India, Netherlands and Spain in the competition that will be held from December, 2025 till June, 2026.
But the problem is that the cash-strapped Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) doesn’t have funds to send the team for the Pro League.
The PHF have now requested the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) to release 700 million rupees (around USD 2.5 million) for the entire campaign.
The state run PSB, at its recent annual meeting, made it clear that it doesn’t have the funds to ensure Pakistan’s participation in the Pro League.
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The PSB, in fact, has already directed the PHF to submit detailed accounts of the funds allocated to them since last year and have flatly refused to release more funds to the national federation to pay daily and travel allowances of players and officials, who went to the recent FIH Nations Cup.
Pakistan lost in the final of the FIH Nations Cup to New Zealand, who automatically qualified for the Pro League.
But New Zealand have informed the FIH that they wouldn’t be sending their team, as a result of which second-best Pakistan have got a chance to compete against the top tier teams.
“But whether this will be possible has to be seen as the PSB will send a summary to the Prime Minister for allocation of special funds to allow the PHF to send the team to the Pro League,” an official in the PSB said.
He made it clear that because of the failure of the PHF to update the PSB on how they had spent funds released to them since last year the Prime Minister, who is patron-in-chief of the PHF might opt for a change in the top leadership of the federation before approving special funds of 700 million rupees.
Rasheedul Hassan, an Olympic gold medallist who has launched a campaign against the PHF, said unfortunately the officials who had managed the federation affairs for last many years had failed to keep a clean image.
When the inaugural Pro League was held, the PHF had initially confirmed participation in the event but later backed out citing lack of funds as a result it ended up paying a fine of 170,000 euros to the FIH.
For record, Pakistan is the most successful national team in the Asian Games history, with eight gold medals — 1958, 1962, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1990, and 2010, the highest number of times a country has become Asian Champion.
Pakistan is also the only Asian team to have won the prestigious Champions Trophy thrice — 1978, 1980 and 1994.