I think there are some issues that have to be addressed before we get into this argument.
1. Cricket vs other sports
I dont know why we always see this argument that oh we invest more in cricket and overlook other sports.
Let me remind you that no one invests in cricket either. Cricket is not invested at all. PCB is a profit making organization, thus what they make is what they spend. PCB doesn't get any money from Govt of Pakistan. It doesnt use tax money, its an organization that makes money. Infact, its one of those govt organizations that is actually profitable. PCB last time took money from govt back in the 1980s and Osman Samiuddin has confirmed this.
I always hate when people say oh we invest more in cricket and overlook others, PCB has itself become a self sustaining organization.
Thus, please stop making statements that we should not invest in cricket. PCB does everything on its own. PCB gets the sponsors etc by itself. Thus why should PCB stop itself if our other sports boards have failed.
Hockey federation has itself to blame for its failure. PCB has nothing to do with it. PCB self sustains itself and has caused no damage to cricket.
2. Sports = Education
In Canada, through out your schooling, Physical Education is part of your formal education. You have a class for physical education from grade 1 till upto grade 12. Its marks carry same weightage as other sports. Plus, every school has various sports ground and indoor gyms. The sports grounds are shared with public and hte school. No one can be stopped from those grounds.
3. Sports and Opportunity Cost
If Pakistan wants to do good in sports, they need to finish this concept of opportunity cost. In Pakistan you could either go into sports or go for formal education. Both cannot be done. The reason for that is the sports clubs and academies ask you to spend more than 6-8 hours with them. Which is just plain wrong.
If Pakistan gets physical education a part of our edducation than we could have sports and education compliment each other. But for this to happened, we need an overhaul of our education system. The examination system be it FSC, Matric or even the o and a level are a big joke. THey required a whole year of cramming for only to give an exam after 1 year and be judged against that.
Sports education can only exists in a education system where you have course work so that you can be judged each week or after 2 weeks.
I played shotput, track and field in Canada for 2 years as part of our physical education. I never played these sports in Pakistan education system.
In our Education system, we have a sports period where the sports teacher will make you do jumping jacks and than after those jumping jacks he throws you a ball and say go play around in the field.
I see people play volleyball in punjab. Volleyball is not even an out door sport. You can play this sport outdoor. But Volleyball is a sport that needs walls, because you improve by practicing against the wall.
In Canada, they teach you volleyball in a very basic banner like where to stand when attackingn and wheret to stand when defending.
4. Sports corruption.
Alot of posters mentioned universities and how universities are going to have such clubs etc.
Let me tell you what happens in university. The so called sports qouta is actually the nepotism qouta. Many of our villiage people who have students who want to go to University, what they do is they contact their local MPA or MNA, who than promise they will get them into a university. Now how they get these people into University is throught the sports qouta. You just need to know how to play a sport at a very very very basic level, and the MNA will get you a seat in the university on that sports qouta.
You dont have to be good.
If you want to get into a university on sports qouta, than Badminton is the easiet way. You dont have to be good just know how to hold racquet and you get a place in the uni. AFter that whether you perform or not doesnt matter.
These are the basic problems that we face and need to be addressed. Problem is, now Usman Buzdar saab probably saw Arshad make good throws. WHat he will do is that oh lets fund sports. He will write a cheque and do some ribbon cutting ceremony at a sports club or at a university that has a newly build sports society and thats about it.
Than later they will claim we have invested in sports.
The situation is soo bad in Pakistan, people dont even know that we originally had 11 people going to the olympics. The one guy who couldn't go was because his horse died twice and the Pakistani govt never planned on buying a back up horse.
