ISLAMABAD: Mohammad Khalid Mehmood, who was elected unopposed as secretary Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) in the recently held elections, Sunday hailed the Pakistan Sports Board’s (PSB) decision to increase the monthly slab of local qualified coaches.

Talking to ‘The News’, POA secretary said the PSB’s Governing Board decision would go a long way in promoting sports in the country. “It is a groundbreaking decision that will serve two purposes. Firstly, all the internationally qualified coaches will get their due right.

Secondly, it would help the young coaches to get the latest knowledge about coaching by getting the required education abroad. Such a decision was long overdue,” the POA Secretary said.

The PSB’s Governing Board has decided to increase the hiring slab from Rs1 lac to Rs1 million depending on the qualification of the particular coach. The PSB pays up to $5,000 to international/foreign coaches but when hiring domestically qualified coaches, it only pays Rs50,000 which is far less than the required amount.

The new monthly slab for the coaches will be between Rs1 lac to Rs1 million depending on that particular coach’s local and international qualification. Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (President PTF) has been made part of the coaches’ hiring committee which will decide on the process and will table a final draft for Board approval in the next meeting.

“Aisam’s inclusion in the committee is also a welcoming sign as he not only is not only the president of one of the leading federations (PTF), he also is a renowned athlete who knows international requirements better than any other individual.”

The POA secretary added that coaches’ and athletes’ friendly decisions would help groom youngsters in the best possible way.“The world sports is growing rapidly and to keep up the pace with international requirements we are required to uplift our standards on all fronts.”