Pakistan volleyball: All set for success?

Pakistan is brimming with an immense volleyball talent. But despite the rich resources, the country has failed to make its presence felt at the world level.

There has been international success. But such laurels have been few and far between.

The good news is that currently Pakistan volleyball is experiencing something of a mini revival. There have been a series of good performances by national volleyball players. In fact, the country came close to winning a medal at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, finishing a highly respectable fifth position in the mega event.

Recent spate of successful outings

Volleyball is perhaps the only team sport in Pakistan showing worthwhile progress. The growth, which has been seen these months, is not something accidental. It is the result of the hard labor which has been put in by the federation during the last few years.

The credit of this success also goes to Brazilian coach Issanaye Ramires Ferraz who taught new techniques to the players and brought them at par with the modern volleyball. It was because of the Green-shirts glorious show in the Asian Games which also forced Korea to offer Issanaye a lucrative contract. He is now handling the Korean team which had been beaten by Pakistan in the Hangzhou Asian Games. If the PVF had enough funds in its kitty it could have stopped Issanaye from accepting Korea’s offer.

Ruben Wolochin of Argentina has replaced Issanaye. Wolchin is also a highly experienced coach and is doing a good job.

Pakistan carried Hangzhou Asian Games momentum into the Central Asian Volleyball League in Islamabad last May which the hosts won.

Pakistan's volleyball players in action during a match.PVF

Immediately after that Pakistan blanked Australia 3-0 in a home series in Islamabad.

In June this year, Pakistan finished as runners-up in the AVC Challenge Cup when they lost to Qatar 3-0 in the final at Isa Town, Bahrain.

Meanwhile Pakistan Under-18 team won the Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) Asian Under-18 Championship by beating Iran 3-1 in the final in Tehran.

The same team claimed a bronze medal in the 15th Asian Men’s Under-18 Championship held in Manama by beating Japan 3-0 in the third position match. The feat enabled Pakistan to qualify for the Under-19 World Championship for the first time.

Major hurdles

There are various reasons which have obstructed the game’s progress in Pakistan despite having all the required potential. Like other games, volleyball has also been facing financial issues.

One of the biggest issues is that PVF cannot afford to send teams in international events, at least not regularly. Its task has become more difficult because of the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee. Just a single tour will cost more than 10 million rupees.

PVF president Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob, a former IG, has done a good job so far as under him the federation has been managing to send teams for major international events. He has also engaged a few major sponsors like Engro Corp which is helping the sport to grow gradually.

For the first time in history last season seven of Pakistan’s key players featured in foreign professional leagues which left a great impact on the team’s performance. Afaq Khan played league in Kazakhstan, captain Murad Jehan featured in league in Oman, Aimal Khan, Musawar Khan and Usman Faryad played league in Iran while Murad Junior featured in Korean league.

These boys played full-fledged six-month long league and made substantial earnings. Kashif Naveed, Mazhar and Fakhar also won an event Nepal.

Foreign exposure

Due to high inflation, PVF has been finding it difficult to give extensive foreign exposure to the senior team which is also a big stumbling block in its development.

PVF sent its women team to Italy but it must focus on its senior men’s team as well. Through Europe exposure the volleyballers will learn a lot and the national players will then be in a position to down Asia’s top teams.

The big issue is that the PVF only ensures its team’s participation in the most compulsory international events. Unless Pakistan plays against top teams it will not improve.

The players are not rewarded appropriately for their performances. The sport definitely needs a massive corporate sector involvement. The PVF needs to further stretch its marketing noose so that players could be properly rewarded for their glorious shows in international circuit. Although PVF offers rewards to its teams it’s not that big. Its volume needs to be inflated.

Volleyball is a popular sport in Pakistan.PVF

Pakistan is facing a huge problem as far as the volleyball infrastructure is concerned. Barring the Liaquat Gymnasium in Islamabad, which is of international standard, there is no proper indoor air-conditioned hall in the rest of the country where national teams could hold its camp or Pakistan can conduct an international event.

There is a need of a massive input from the state in terms of infrastructure development. And how ideal it would be if PVF owns one international-level indoor hall. The state also needs to build an international standard indoor volleyball gymnasium in Abbottabad where camps could be held in summer where it is almost impossible to train in the rest of the country in the scorching heat.

Pakistan direly needs a professional volleyball league. The league helps a country groom its players alongside foreign players. It also enables the country’s top players to earn more money which helps them focus on their game. Unless players financial status is improved youth will not come to adopt volleyball as their profession.

PVF chairman Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob aims to conduct the first professional league in the near future.

“We plan to hold it soon. It will be on the pattern of Pakistan Super League (PSL) and hopefully it will work. We will try to sustain it,” Yaqoob told Nukta in an interview.

14th South Asian Games

Pakistan has a massive chance to reclaim its title in the 14th South Asian Games which Pakistan will be hosting next year. But the team needs a long camp and foreign training so that it could topple arch-rivals India which is struggling these years against Pakistan.

Foreign coach

Pakistan will need to hire an experienced foreign coach for a minimum of five years so that in the long-term good progress could be made. Hiring a coach for a year or less will not work. The PVF will need to manage more funds for this sector through the collaboration of state and sponsors.

PVF chief Yaqoob has said that federation needs at least Rs 150 million annually to meet volleyball expenses.

“There is no fixed annual grant and it varies depending on state’s financial resources but PVF roughly gets around Rs 3 million as annual grant. A single tour costs us around Rs 12 million. We need at least Rs 150 million every year to meet our expenses,” Yaqoob said.

“The issue is that physical trainer and analyst are also must these days and you also need to bear those expenses,” he said.

“As far as special grant is concerned so if we are to send a team abroad for an event, we write to the government by sharing with it the cost and it then depends on the state how much it can assist us. Sometimes air-fare is sponsored and sometimes it contributes 30 percent of the total expenses. Normally state does not give hundred percent expenses,” he said.

“We used to get around Rs 50 million from Engro and our three-year agreement with them is going to expire. We will try to negotiate with them also in future. Casual sponsors come but we need a permanent sponsor which could give us around Rs 60 million in a year so that we could meet our tours and miscellaneous expenses,” Yaqoob said.

Pakistan senior team’s next targets are the 2025 14th South Asian Games which Pakistan is supposed to host, 6th Islamic Games to be held in Yaounde, Cameroon, from May 9-13, 2025, and 2025 Asian Senior Volleyball Championship which will be conducted at a venue and yet to be decided.