According to Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), it is challenging to ameliorate the team until or unless the youth is not polished and educated from "grass-root level".
PHF secretary Shahbaz Ahmed Sr stated, “There should be a proper budget set for PHF so that it can manage its affairs all by itself,”.
He also added, “The youth must be spotted and picked up from grass-root level. They must be then trained in these centres and given proper education as illiterate cannot survive in international sports,”
He believes that there is a need for about 4-5 hockey centres in Pakistan and that the federation must be able to ensure that the players are provided with proper nutrition as per their requirements.
On the poor performance of Pakistan's team against Canada in Champions Trophy and series, he said that how was it possible for them to win as they ranked 13th; “Pakistan is ranked 13th in International Hockey Federation (FIH) rankings while Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Netherlands and India are in top six,”.
He further added, “On the other hand Pakistan development squad that lost the series to Canada was Pakistan junior team playing against Canadian senior team. The Pak-Canada series was all sponsored by our Canadian counterpart and had nothing to do with FIH rankings. Our junior team went to Canada for international exposure then why so much criticism,”
He highlighted, “At our time players had permanent jobs in several departments,” and that today, jobs should be provided to the players in order for them to earn a living.
