Sports University to be launch soon in Islamabad, says Minister

Karachi: The federal minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Riaz Hussain Pirzada has said that a sports university would be inaugurated soon in Islamabad as a result of an effort to produce professionals who can serve sports in a better way.

While talking to media Pirzada said “We are going to inaugurate a sports university in Islamabad very soon.” He moreover said that “The finance minister Ishaq Dar has told us that we should launch the university while the government will sponsor it.”

“You know that sport is actually a science and we need such professionals who can help sports at various levels. The university will prepare those individuals who would be able to fulfill the requirements of sports” he added.

“Upon our request the chairperson of Higher Education Commission has talked to few countries, also including Cuba, and we are almost ready to construct this university. We will need a few classrooms in our main centre whereas departments will be opened in different universities and post-graduate colleges crosswise the country which will be affiliated along with the university” he said.

 “It is unhappy that up to now none of our athletes has qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics. However,  we will try to assist our athletes and the federations as much as we can so that they might have the best preparation for the 2018 Asian Games as well as for the 2020 Olympics” he said.

Pirzada said that our country lacked the basic facilities of sports. “We need hockey turfs, sports tracks, stadiums as well as the grounds. The facilities that are available in our country are out-of-date. We are paying attention on boosting structure so that we can host global events in a appropriate way”.

Minister moreover said that if the allotted amount was not utilized before 15^th May 2016 then it would go back to the exchequer.

“However it doesn’t matter; we will take it back from the government. It is actually for Narowal Sports Complex which is still under construction,” Pirzada said.

He confessed that the government did not correctly back the federations in leasing the services of foreign coaches. “It is actually true that federations were not supported in this zone. I have already told the PSB to assist them in employing foreign coaches as we have signed MoUs along with the different countries from whom we can get coaches” minister said.

He was shocked when this correspondent informed him that the national coaches were being given just Rs 15,000.

He added that “it is not good. I think an effort has been made just to keep them on personnel. A professional coach should get not less than Rs50,000 monthly so that he could work with his full attentions.”

He said that the government, the senate as well as the national assembly had been showing interest in the promotion of sports.