Pakistan Launches Schools Hockey League Nationwide
Pakistan has launched a nationwide Schools Hockey League, offering young players monthly stipends, professional training and a chance to earn a foreign tour.
The league was inaugurated with an exhibition match at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium in Islamabad, where Islamabad Model College for Girls, Tarlai, beat Islamabad Model College for Girls, G-6/1-4, by 2-0.
Pakistan Hockey Federation President and Inter-Provincial Coordination Secretary Mohyuddin Wani attended the ceremony, along with Dr Ehtasham Anwar and national team head coach Herman Kruis.
The Schools Hockey League will run competitions for boys and girls across Islamabad, all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
How the Schools Hockey League will work
Competitions at tehsil, district and divisional level begin on November 15. Provincial rounds follow in January 2027, and the national round will be held in February 2027.
Players from the top three teams in both the boys’ and girls’ categories will receive monthly stipends for one year. Winners will get Rs10,000 a month, runners-up Rs7,500 and third-placed teams Rs5,000. The overall winning team will also be rewarded with a foreign tour.
The federation will select 100 boys and 100 girls each year for specialised summer training camps. The camps will offer professional hockey coaching, fitness training and academic support.
School principals and sports teachers who help make the league a success will also receive special awards.
A planned revival, not a one-off event
The launch follows a decision taken by the federation at a consultative meeting in Islamabad on October 27. Dawn reported that the meeting, chaired by Wani, brought together representatives of the schools and sports departments of the four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The federation said the league would operate under the PHF with its own chief executive officer and a steering committee chaired by the federation president. Ehtasham Anwar, the federation’s focal person for the league, shared the broad outline at that meeting.
The structure was fixed then: tehsil, district and divisional rounds from November 15, provincial rounds in January and the national round in February. The stipends and the foreign tour were also announced at that stage.
Why the league matters
Hockey is Pakistan’s national sport, but the country has not produced a steady stream of young players in recent years. A school league that reaches every district gives the federation a way to find talent early and keep it in the game.
The stipends matter too. A monthly payment of Rs10,000 for a year gives a school player and their family a reason to stay with the sport, while the summer camps offer coaching that most schools cannot provide on their own.
The girls’ competition carries equal weight in the design, with the same rounds, the same stipends and the same camp places for girls as for boys. Pakistani sportswomen have been recognised this week at the Muslim Sports Awards, and a young athlete’s fight for unpaid prize money has also drawn attention.
School sport is also back on the agenda in other ways. Punjab has opened applications for the third phase of its Nawaz Sharif Schools of Eminence, and young cricketers have reached the Under-19 Asia Cup final. The hockey league now gives school players in the national sport a path of their own.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Schools Hockey League?
It is a nationwide inter-school hockey competition run by the Pakistan Hockey Federation, with rounds from tehsil level up to a national final.
When does the league start?
Tehsil, district and divisional rounds begin on November 15, 2026. Provincial rounds follow in January 2027 and the national round in February 2027.
What do the winning players get?
Players from the top three teams receive monthly stipends for a year: Rs10,000 for winners, Rs7,500 for runners-up and Rs5,000 for third place. The overall winners also earn a foreign tour.
Who can take part?
School boys and girls from Islamabad, all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. The federation will also pick 100 boys and 100 girls each year for summer training camps.
