Is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Directorate for Sports Development or Profit?

 

Musarrat Ullah Jan – Kikxnow , digital Creator

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Directorate is back in the limelight again — this time for the same reasons: bad financial management, discrimination against sportspersons, and no basic facilities.

The recent controversy revolves around the Adil Khan Swimming Pool, where the administration has requested money for chlorine from individuals visiting to learn swimming. This request emerged even though the Directorate recently made a profit of Rs. 12 million from this very same swimming pool alone.

The question is: if so much money has already been raised, why are the public and athletes being requested to pay for fundamentals such as chlorine? Surprisingly, the revenue of the Hayatabad Sports Complex swimming pool goes unused, but things are no different there.

A few days ago, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Swimming Association made an appeal to the Director General of Sports, asking for facilities to train swimmers so they could prepare for international and national tournaments. But the official reply was astonishing: "The association should provide its own chlorine and clean the pool itself."

This reply is not only disappointing but an insult to the athletes. If a provincial department — responsible under the Sports Policy 2018 for the promotion of sports and provision of facilities — demands cleaning services from athletes themselves, then one must ask: where are these millions of rupees going?

A number of lifeguards working at the same pool were said to be relatives of high-ranking officials. They included disabled individuals and even some who worked as tube well operators earlier but were subsequently elevated to lifeguards and then to "caretakers." If recruitment is done on the basis of nepotism and not merit, where will professional swimmers and trainers go?

That is why, when it comes to professional swimmers, even Rs. 12 million in revenue appears to "vanish." Last year, the very same pool raked in Rs. 9.7 million, but there wasn't any upgrade in water quality, nor were certain training hours reserved for professional sportsmen.

Now the concern is no longer money or chlorine. The pool is simply closed every winter. The justification from the management? "The water is too cold." Ironically, national games, including swimming competitions, take place in December in Karachi.

Thus, while athletes from other provinces are training all year round, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa swimmers are excluded from their pools. Isn't it unjust? Sports are not a hobby seasonal to some — they need to be practiced and trained all the time. If provincial bodies close down facilities for athletes, how then can the athletes represent Pakistan at higher levels?

This is even more worrying given that in the Directorate's annual development budget, there are dedicated funds for the upkeep of sports facilities. The pools, however, remain closed, coaches nowhere to be found, and athletes helpless.

Under Article 6 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Policy 2018,

"The Provincial Sports Directorate will ensure all sports facilities in each district are functional, accessible, and usable for public good." The same policy also requires free or subsidized training for players.

But in actual fact, the sports grounds and gymnasiums have become private fiefdoms. The Sports Complexes today exact high "fees" and "commercial rents" from the people, while the athletes — whose name is taken while approving the budgets — are left waiting at the gates.

Consider Punjab or Sindh. Their sports complexes remain open throughout the year. In Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Hyderabad, there are indoor heated swimming pools where sportsmen keep training even in winter.

The Punjab Sports Board has even incorporated a "Winter Training Schedule" in its budget plan. At the same time, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sportsmen remain at the mercy of the weather.

A Peshawar youth swimmer commented, "We are allowed to use the pool in summer. Other than that, we train at home with a tub of water." Sounds ridiculous — but it isn't.

The coaches are no less upset. As one described the situation, "When the government itself doesn't provide a fitting ground for training, to expect performance from players is akin to cruelty."

Where Does the Money Go?

The one question that lingers is: where does the Directorate's revenue go? When and where was the Rs. 12 million revenue recorded? Is there any audit report? If so, why isn't it made available?

In the last five years, sports development budget has gone up, but playgrounds remain empty, training centers are shut down, and sports clubs are politically fractured.

If the provincial government is serious about encouraging sports, it has to do it now:

Have an independent audit of the Adil Khan Swimming Pool and all other facilities carried out.

Make the administration accountable for chlorine, cleaning, and water quality.

Install heating systems or covered pools to conduct winter training.

Go through all special quota recruitments to bring merit back.

Set up an Athletes' Representative Committee to monitor decisions of the Sports Directorate.

The future of sports is contingent on institutional conduct. If the Sports Directorate itself becomes a business firm, the future of sports takes a dim turn.

There are numerous other incidents like that of Adil Khan Swimming Pool — the actual problem is that in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sports have turned into a business.

There is still hope for sportspersons that someone will bring this unfair system to an end.

But the question still persists: will the Sports Directorate ever deliver for the players with the same passion that it does for its own revenue?

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