Charity through Sport: Pakistan, Holland to play fund-raising hockey match for Pakistan flood victims
Every sports column is littered with articles about the allegations of spot-fixing against certain players of the Pakistani cricket team, namely Mohammad Asif, Test captain Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir. Consequently, every Pakistani (who is not on the cricket team) is concerned and, of course, enraged. Amongst this entire racket about who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong emerge those who actually care more about the situation of the country than that of its sports scene. The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has announced that the Pakistan Hockey Team will play a charity match with the Netherlands. The proceedings of this event will go towards fund-raising for the flood victims in Pakistan. Finally a Pakistani sport has a face other than disappointing, competitive or corrupt.
This charity event is the result of the cumulative effort of the Royal Dutch Hockey Association (KNHB), the Pakistan Hockey Federation, the Pakistan Embassy in Netherlands and the charity organization Samenwerkende Hulp Organisaties (SHO). The match is set to take place on September 14th, 2010 in Rotterdam, Netherlands’ multi-ethnic metropolis. The venue is the hockey club Rotterdam. This initiative is fully supported by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The FIH has requested all its National Associations to “respond to the tragedies in Pakistan” and donate to this noble cause.
The Dutch front is invested in making this venture a success, as the KNHB has asked all Dutch hockey clubs to donate one euro per club member. At the start of the Dutch National competition, an annual hockey competition, all clubs will receive donation forms. These forms will then be distributed to club members. In order to facilitate donations, deposits can be made in the bank account 555 or funds donated on match day. Donation forms will also be distributed amongst visitors during the event.
KNHB director Johan Wakkie stressed on the long lasting relationship between Dutch hockey and Pakistan hockey and has proven this “special link” through organizing this event. It seems the Dutch have left no stone unturned in their endeavour to make this event a success. The event was publicized during the nationwide fund collecting day on August 26th, 2010 by various Dutch nationals such as hockey team captain Teun de Nooijer.
This is not the first time the KNHB has initiated a charity of this scale for Pakistan. In 1998, the association raised approximately 350 000 Euro for Dar-Ul-Sukun, a charity organization supporting disabled children. It also supported the Dutch nationwide charity event for the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. It is safe to assume that Pakistan has sympathetic allies in Dutch hockey at least.
Muhammad Asif Bajwa, the secretary general of PHF, commended the international community on its efforts. He also said that his charity match will be one of the many matches the Pakistan Hockey team will play during its training tour of the Netherlands. The dates for the tour are September 1st to September 20th, 2010.
The selected 19-member squad will play seven practice matches against Poland, France, Belgium and Holland in this tour. The squad is accompanied by four hockey officials but not the team manager Manzoor, who has been held up by his department, the Pakistan International Airlines.
The Pakistan Hockey team may be training to improve their game, but here is a new side of Pakistani sports, one that cares about more than just winning.
Team:
Imran Shah, Zeeshan Ashraf (captain), Mohammad Imran (vice-captain), Kashif Javed, Waseem Ahmad, Mohammad Rashid, Waqas Sharif, Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Irfan, Muhammad Tauseeq, Mohammad Omer Bhutta, Shafqat Rasool, Abdul Haseem Khan, Fareed Ahmad, Mohammad Zubair, Waqas Akbar and Imran Butt. Officials: Ahmed Alam and Ajmal Khan (assistant coaches), Faiz ur Rehman (physiotherapist) and Nadeem Lodhi (video analyst).
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