PHF Elections Coming Soon as Ad-Hoc Era Ends, Rana Sanaullah Confirms
The ad-hoc era at the Pakistan Hockey Federation is coming to an end. Elections will be held soon to choose a permanent president, Rana Sanaullah, Adviser to the Prime Minister, announced on Friday in Islamabad.
Sanaullah was speaking at the signing ceremony where the PHF and the FIH put pen to paper on the agreement for Pakistan to host the men’s Nations Cup in Lahore next February. It was a day for big announcements, and the one about the federation’s future matters just as much as the one about the tournament.
The PHF has been run on an ad-hoc basis, with Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani appointed as ad-hoc president. Sanaullah said that arrangement will be abolished and the federation must have a permanent president, chosen through elections. No date was given, but the message was clear: the caretaker setup is ending.
He didn’t hide why it matters. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has issued directives to restore Pakistan hockey to its former stature, Sanaullah said, and the government will extend all possible support and resources, including preparations for the Nations Cup. He was blunt about the state of the game, too, saying the results of Pakistan’s matches were painful to hear, particularly when countries that were once relatively unknown in international hockey have moved ahead of Pakistan.
The Nations Cup backdrop
The timing is no accident. Pakistan hosting the Nations Cup in Lahore from 19 to 28 February 2027 is the biggest thing to happen to the country’s hockey in years, the first major FIH event on home soil in more than two decades. Ten teams will play, including hosts Pakistan, Egypt, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Korea and the United States, with promotion to the 2027-28 Pro League on the line.
Pakistan were runners-up in the last edition and then had a taste of top-flight hockey in the 2025-26 Pro League. France won the 2025-26 Nations Cup and took the promotion spot, so they won’t be in Lahore. That leaves the door open, and a home tournament with a home crowd is the best chance Pakistan will get.
FIH President Tayyab Ikram and interim PHF President Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani signed the hosting agreement at the ceremony in Islamabad, where the elections announcement was made. The two stories are linked. A federation with a permanent, elected leadership and a major tournament to host is a very different proposition from a caretaker setup with nothing on the calendar.
For our money, the elections are the bigger story of the two. Tournaments come and go. A properly run federation is what decides whether Pakistan hockey keeps climbing or slides back again. The Nations Cup gives the new leadership a stage. What they do with it is the real test.
