Corruption hits the Pakistan Tennis Federation
Pakistan is a small country lying in the Sub-Continent in South Asia. It may be a small country but it possesses a lot of talent in every field. However, corruption has found its way into many departments in Pakistan which has hindered the development of this nation.
The Pakistani youth is talented in many sports and the Pakistani cricket team is one of the best teams in the world. Unfortunately, other sports lag behind because they are not catered to properly.
A major reason for this lack of development in the sports department is corruption at a higher level. The government refuses to fund the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) properly which has prevented talented young players from establishing a career as professional tennis players.
Having talented players represent a country in international sports is one of the best ways to build a respectable image for the country around the world. The Pakistani government fails to realise this and continues to sideline the need for extensive development in the sports culture.
Tennis in Pakistan is at stake due to this ignorance. Recently, Pakistan participated in the Davis Cup 2010, which is one of the biggest tennis events in the world. Even at such a grand event the team was not being given a proper budget. This showed the lack of interest that the Pakistani government had in the promotion of the sport. The president of the PTF, Dilawar Abbas, is constantly complaining about the ongoing mistreatment of tennis in the country.
Dilawar Abbas has revealed to the press that after an allocation of Rs589 million to the PTF last year, the government has now reduced the budget by sixty percent to Rs229.65 million which is not at all sufficient to fund the sport at an international level.
Instead of raising standards they are heading towards a decline. Surely the amount which has been reduced is not going for a better cause and it is likely that it is being devoured by higher officials to fulfil their luxurious needs.
Reluctantly, the PTF President, Abbas, has also said that he bore all the expenses needed by the Pakistani team for their participation in the Davis Cup from his own pocket. The budget assigned to them this year was hardly enough for them to arrange for a local tennis tournament and reaching out for an international event required a lot more money.
The government’s negligence towards the sport has forced Abbas to speak out against them and has made him realise that the development of tennis has no priority in Pakistan. It has also been claimed that the actual budget which was meant to be given to the PTF was much more and that due to mismanagement it never reached the PTF.
Unlike Cricket in Pakistan, which is a self sufficient sport because it generates its own funds from many sponsors, Tennis in Pakistan needs funds in order to develop further. The only notable tennis player from Pakistan, who has also made a name for Pakistan in the international Tennis community, is Aisam Ul Haq. He has gotten this far on his own as the PTF was never given enough funds in order to support even one player financially at an international level.
Many others like Aqeel Khan, who are still developing their game, are lucky to do so because they can manage to fund themselves. If it had been up to the government or the PTF they would not get very far.
Along with the lack of funds, Pakistan suffers in its development due to the continuous security issues and the ongoing terrorist attacks which have plagued the country for quite some time now.
The Davis Cup 2010 tie between Pakistan and New Zealand was to be hosted by Pakistan, but the International Tennis Federation (ITF) declared that due to security concerns the venue had been shifted to New Zealand. By hosting this event, Pakistan could have taken a step forward in its development in the department of sports but lost this opportunity.
It is time that the Pakistani government realised that developing Tennis may be beneficial for them. However, this cannot be done until the corrupt officials who have crept into the government and are taking what is not theirs, are stopped.
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