Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Tuesday said the chamber has planned to set up a sports development fund to support the needy athletes. Addressing a press conference here, the ICCI Acting President Ashfaq Chatta that the fund would be set up to acquire funding from the charity persons and utilise it for the benefit of needy sportspersons. He said ICC in its next executive meeting, taking place by the end of ongoing month would be discussing the organisation of the fund.
Chatta, while appreciating the Rawalpindi Islamabad Sports Journalists Association (RISJA) said that the Association had always been forthcoming and supporting ICCI to organise different sports events, especially for special athletes. "We hope the relationship between media and the ICCI for the betterment of sports will further strengthen in the coming days," he said.
Speaking about the downfall of hockey, Chatta said the current national team had become a pale reflection of Pakistan's past hockey team. The departments and other private organisations that used to work for the betterment of hockey have pulled off their hands now, which is really unfortunate, he said. He said funds and jobs were the dire need of players and these should be arranged for the uplift of the game."The ICCI and all other chambers in the country are always available to save the national game," he said. Chatta also asked concerned authorities to focus on development of sports in the country.