Sibtain wants PSB to be disbanded, POA to be empowered

KARACHI: With the state making an effort to restructure Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), Pakistan Table Tennis Federation’s (PTTF) president SM Sibtain on Friday dropped a bombshell when he said that the PSB should be “disbanded”, demanding that Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) should handle the country’s sports.“If sports is not a federal subject any more what is the meaning of restructuring the PSB,” Sibtain told ‘The News’ in a hard-hitting interview. “The Board should be disbanded, its provincial units be handed over to the respective provinces and POA should be mandated to handle the country’s sports,” Sibtain said.Sibtain, a former federal secretary, wondered why the Prime Minister Task Force on Sports led by Ehsan Mani did not look at the constitutional provisions before going for restructuring the Board. “The task force should have first checked whether law allows it to go for restructuring of the Board and whether sport is a federal subject anymore. If sport is not a federal subject any more then how can the federal government finance federations?” Sibtain asked.“What is being done is totally wrong. It’s time to disband the PSB. The provinces should work for sports development which I think they are doing except Sindh,” Sibtain said. The Board has recently funded a few federations. The PSB is still considered a key sports administrative body of the country despite devolution.Sibtain suggested that it would be a positive step if the building of the PSB in Islamabad be specified for establishing a university. He said when it happens then the POA would have to come out of deep slumber and work harder for effectively running the country’s sports.“POA will have to leave politics and focus on its real job,” he stressed. “POA should not be involved in politics of its units. I am very vocal about such thing. Federations are the real force. For game promotion POA has affiliated provincial Olympic associations but they have no role. The provincial Olympic associations should not meddle in the affairs of the federations,” Sibtain said.“I have been saying this on record for a long time but unfortunately they don’t bring it on the agenda,” Sibtain said. He said when the PSB would be disbanded then federations should manage their own financial affairs.“It’s not difficult to manage finances if influential people, especially from the corporate sector, become heads of the federations,” he said. “When I was in power I used to manage huge funds for table tennis. Why can’t we make heads of big companies and business tycoons of the country presidents of federations,” Sibtain asked.Since the last Asian Games hosted by Indonesia last summer majority of the federations have failed to ensure their teams’ participation in major international events due to lack of state funding.But Sibtain said once the federations were told that they would manage their own business then they would be compelled to do so and carve out new ways and means to meet their pressing requirements.“If any federation cannot handle its own finances and cannot involve corporate sector in its sport development then its officials should resign and leave the body to be run by strong and influential people,” Sibtain said.The proposed Pakistan Sports Education Development and Infrastructure Board (PSEDIB) will be responsible to run sports sciences and physical education programmes up to doctorate level with the assistance of HEC and provincial governments. Higher Education Commission (HEC) will have a solid role in sports development. The PSEDIB draft also mentions that sports under the 18th Amendment is a provincial subject. The PSEDIB would be responsible to plan, organise, implement sports policy and maintain government-funded sports infrastructure. It will also coordinate with the provincial sports boards and develop sports education in coordination with provincial sports departments.The new Board will also generate revenue through public-private partnership and other channels. The new Board is yet to get legal cover.

from The News International - Sports https://ift.tt/2M0HGq1