International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre will inaugurate the installation of a sand-based hockey turf at BAF Shaheen School today. This will be the Spaniard’s third official visit to Dhaka.
During his four-day visit, Negre will also inaugurate the First Security Islami Bank National School Hockey Championship and commence the installation work of the blue turf at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium.
The FIH president was scheduled to land in the capital yesterday night.
In a presser held at the conference room of National Sports Council yesterday, Bangladesh Hockey Federation general secretary Khaja Rahmatullah said Negre’s arrival this time will be a significant one. “The FIH president desperately wants to promote hockey in the sub-continent and desires to see Dhaka as an active international venue. He inspired me to take the initiative of hosting a tournament comprising India and Pakistan. We hope to host it at the end of next year.”
FIH provided 25 percent of the cost of the new blue turf and Rahmatullah said the federation will now take the initiative to set up the floodlights. “It is a costly issue but with the assistance of the government and the FIH, I think it is possible. We will seek assistance from both the parties.”
Meanwhile, Azam Khan, the head of development and marketing of First Security Islami Bank Ltd, hoped that the pipeline of the future stars will be formed through the second edition of the school tournament. “We sponsored the first edition and continued the trend with a vision of creating the future players.”
Tournament secretary Mamunur Rashid said the number of participating teams this time will be 120, an increase of 19 teams from the previous edition. “The response is very good. We received 145 applications but could take only 120. Moreover, we have made arrangements with the BKSP about providing privileges for the players who will be selected through this tournament.”
