Lahore (Cliff News)In a press conference at the National Hockey Stadium, Lahore, PHF’s Director Development and Domestic, Naveed Alam announced the schedule and pools of the National Championships, beginning from December 23. A panel of 65 umpires and technical officials for the championships has also been named.
Flanked by the tournament director, Olympian Mussadiq and organising secretary, Masoodur Rahman, Naveed Alam revealed there would be two league rounds at these nationals followed by the semi finals and final.The 13 departmental teams would first figure in four pools of the ‘Premier League.
PREMIER LEAGUE:
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POOL ‘A’
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POOL ‘B’
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POOL ‘C’
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POOL ‘D’
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PIA
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WAPDA
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NBP
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ARMY
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NAVY
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SSGC
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Port Qasim
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SNGPL
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RAILWAY
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HEC
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POLICE
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PAF
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PTV
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Two teams finishing at the top of each pool would advance into the ‘Super League’. The eight teams making into the Super League will be further divided into two pools.The top two teams from each of the two pools of the Super League will then play the semi finals followed by the final on January 4.
All the matches are to be played at the National Hockey Stadium, Lahore.
Three matches are scheduled daily during the League stages. First match will start at 10 AM (9:30 on Fridays). January 1 and 2 will be the two rest days.
There will be a separate championship for the regional teams after a few weeks.
Naveed told, “When the regional teams compete along with the departmental sides, often one sided results are seen with the regional sides suffering big defeats.The regional championships would see divisional sides rather than the provincial teams. Hopefully, around 30 divisional sides will be in the fray. Hence, a lot of new talent would be on display at the regional championships.”