Siegfried Aikman, the former Head Coach of the Pakistan Men’s hockey team, may take legal action against the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) if his unpaid dues are not settled.
The Dutch national, who resigned from the position of head coach of the Pakistan Men’s Hockey Team on 19 May 2023, has claimed that he has not received his salary for the past year. He has stated clearly that he will do “whatever it takes” to have his money paid.
According to PHF, the reason behind the delay in releasing Aikman’s salary is the ongoing dispute between Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and PHF.
Aikman, who was hired in December 2021, was expected to work with the team until 2026. He had previously coached the Japanese team, which won the Asian Games title in 2018, causing one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament.
The four-member committee, which was established to review the PHF’s performance and suggest ways to improve the federation’s affairs, has recommended immediate elections to remove the PHF from its current state of disarray. This is necessary ahead of the Asian Games, Olympic Qualifying round, and Junior Asia Cup.
The committee, which was chaired by the Director General of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), Shoaib Khoso, included former Olympians, Akhtar Rasool, Shahnaz Sheikh, and Islahuddin Siddiqui. During the meeting, it was decided to forward recommendations to the Patron-in-Chief, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, asking for the appointment of a caretaker committee to hold free and fair PHF elections.
However, none of the queries sent to the PHF by the committee have been answered, and a member of the committee has expressed surprise at this lack of cooperation. The member has also recommended the formation of an ad-hoc or caretaker committee to hold free and fair federation elections to help put Pakistan hockey back on track.
Furthermore, the committee has decided to write about the un-supportive behavior of the federation, which has refused to cooperate with the committee’s efforts to improve the state of hockey in Pakistan.