LAHORE — The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has developed a new sports funding proposal based on Qatar’s model to present to the government for the upcoming National Sports Policy 2026. Announcing the initiative during a press conference on Sunday alongside an Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) delegation, POA President Arif Saeed emphasized that reforming Pakistani sports requires close cooperation between the government and national federations.
Key Highlights
- The POA is proposing a performance-based funding model inspired by Qatar for the National Sports Policy 2026.
- National federations will be categorized into A, B, and C groups based on their activity volume and performance.
- The draft policy includes a proposal for federal and provincial governments to allocate 2% of development budgets to sports.
- Pakistan expects to send a contingent of 235 to 250 athletes and officials to the 20th Asian Games in Japan next year.
- Lahore hosted a promotional “Fun Run” and youth painting competition in connection with the upcoming Asian Games.
The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has developed a proposal based on Qatar’s sports funding model to recommend grant allocations for national sports federations under the proposed National Sports Policy 2026. The initial draft has been shared with federations for feedback. pic.twitter.com/xbipw45M0r
— Dialogue Pakistan (@DialoguePak) June 1, 2026
POA President Arif Saeed thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for introducing the new policy draft and explained that grants should be distributed based on merit and active programs rather than personalities. Under the POA’s proposed Qatari model, sports federations would be graded into A, B, and C categories. Saeed noted that merely holding one senior and one junior championship a year is insufficient and that office-bearers must be held accountable for failing to effectively run their sports.
While he welcomed a draft proposal to reserve 2% of government development budgets for sports, he cautioned that similar past initiatives across other sectors often suffered from poor implementation. He pointed to the cricket structure as a successful example where consistent youth competitions allow Under-19 players to transition directly into national teams, urging similar setups across all sports.
The press conference also served to welcome an OCA delegation led by Hiroshi Sakai, who arrived in Lahore to oversee promotional events for the 20th Asian Games, scheduled for September 2027 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The promotional events included a national youth painting competition and a “Fun Run” at the Lahore College for Women University aimed at promoting athletic unity and healthy living.
Looking ahead to the games, POA Secretary Khalid Mahmood confirmed that the Pakistan Sports Board has agreed to sponsor 123 athletes and officials. With 23 federations expressing interest and several planning to self-finance their travel, Pakistan’s total delegation is projected to reach between 235 and 250 representatives.
