SAF Games in Peshawar? First Tell Us Where the Sports Are!**

 

Musarrat Ullah Jan ,KikxNow , Digital Creator

Pakistan is preparing to host the South Asian Games (SAF Games) next March. Before the official preparations have even gathered momentum, one debate has already dominated sports circles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

**"Why aren't the SAF Games being held in Peshawar?"**

It is a fair question. Every province wants to host a major international event. Hosting brings prestige, media attention and economic activity. But there is another question that deserves even more attention.

**Why are we talking more about hosting than winning?**

That is where the conversation becomes interesting.

After the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, Pakistan's medal tally was hardly encouraging. The country managed only one medal in boxing, while India walked away with seven gold medals. The gap was not created during the Games. It was created over many years through planning, investment, coaching and competition.

Yet instead of asking how Pakistan can close that gap before the SAF Games, much of our energy is being spent debating the venue.

Sometimes it feels as if our greatest sporting achievement is organizing press conferences.

The irony is difficult to ignore.

Ask someone about athlete preparation, and the room becomes quiet.

Ask about hosting rights, and suddenly everyone becomes an expert in international sports management.

The discussion quickly turns emotional.

"We hosted National Games during terrorism."

That is absolutely true, and it remains one of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's proud achievements. Organizing major sporting events under difficult circumstances required courage and determination.

 

But sporting history cannot become a permanent substitute for present-day readiness.

International competitions are not awarded because of what happened fifteen years ago. They are awarded based on current infrastructure, logistics, accommodation, transportation, medical facilities, security planning and technical standards.

Unfortunately, in Pakistan we often believe confidence can replace preparation.

Our favourite national phrase appears to be:

**"It will be managed somehow."**

Need accommodation for hundreds of athletes?

"It will be managed."

Need certified competition venues?

"It will be managed."

Need trained volunteers?

"It will be managed."

Need transport schedules, broadcasting facilities and anti-doping systems?

"No problem. It will be managed."

The only thing that rarely gets managed is long-term planning.

Sports administrators frequently behave like students who remember the exam only the night before.

Training camps suddenly become urgent.

Selection trials appear overnight.

Committees begin meeting every day.

Social media fills with photographs of officials sitting around conference tables looking extremely serious.

The athletes, meanwhile, continue waiting.

One cannot help but wonder whether Pakistan should compete in a new discipline called **Committee Meetings**.

If medals were awarded for forming committees, holding consultations or announcing grand plans, we would probably dominate Asia.

 

Reality, however, is much less forgiving.

The Commonwealth Games reminded us that international sport rewards preparation, not presentations.

Another uncomfortable question deserves attention.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has around forty sports associations.

How many of them are truly active throughout the year?

How many organize regular competitions?

How many identify young talent from schools and colleges?

How many maintain proper athlete development programs instead of simply maintaining office bearers?

Nobody seems eager to answer.

Annual elections often receive more attention than annual championships.

Office bearers become permanent fixtures.

Athletes come and go.

The administration changes.

The results remain the same.

There is also a tendency to believe that government alone is responsible for every sporting failure.

The government should build stadiums.

The government should hire coaches.

The government should provide funding.

The government should discover talent.

The government should win medals.

That raises an obvious question.

What exactly are the sports associations supposed to do?

 

Around the world, successful sporting nations rely on strong club systems, active federations, regular domestic competitions and professional coaching structures.

Governments provide support.

They do not produce champions by themselves.

Champions are built through years of disciplined training.

India did not wake up a few months before the Commonwealth Games and suddenly discover seven gold medals.

Those medals represent years of investment, athlete development and competition.

Pakistan, on the other hand, often expects miracles.

An athlete who has lacked proper competition for months is suddenly expected to defeat opponents who have trained almost every day for four years.

That expectation is unfair to the athlete.

It is also unrealistic.

Returning to the original debate, should Khyber Pakhtunkhwa host future international events?

Absolutely, if it has the required facilities, logistics and operational readiness.

Every province should aspire to host international competitions.

But hosting should be the result of preparation, not the starting point.

A city earns major events by demonstrating capability, not by demanding recognition.

Instead of asking, "Why not Peshawar?"

Perhaps we should ask:

Are our stadiums ready?

Are our associations functioning effectively?

Are our athletes receiving international-level coaching?

Are domestic competitions taking place regularly?

Are we producing future champions?

 

If the answer to these questions becomes "yes," then no one will need to campaign for hosting rights.

International federations will notice.

More importantly, athletes will benefit.

At the end of the day, spectators rarely remember where committee meetings were held.

They remember who stood on the podium.

The crowd does not celebrate meeting minutes.

It celebrates medals.

The media does not publish headlines saying, "Twenty successful planning meetings completed."

It publishes headlines announcing champions.

As Pakistan prepares for the SAF Games, perhaps it is time to shift the conversation.

Instead of fighting over who hosts the Games, let us compete over who produces the best athletes.

Instead of counting meeting agendas, let us count medals.

And instead of asking why the SAF Games are not in Peshawar, perhaps we should first answer a far more important question.

**Where is Pakistan's sporting system headed?**

Until that question is answered honestly, the biggest competition in Pakistan may continue to take place not on the field, but inside meeting rooms.

**#SAFGames #PakistanSports #KPSports #CommonwealthGames #SportsGovernance #SportsDevelopment #SportsInfrastructure #SportsAssociations #SouthAsianGames #RoadToSAFGames**