By Asghar Ali Mubarak
The health of a society can often be read in the condition of its playing fields. Where sports flourish, young people have places to gather, compete and build confidence. Where grounds are neglected and opportunities are scarce, talent is easily lost. For Pakistan, the decision to host the 14th South Asian Games in April 2027 is therefore about much more than medals.
It is an opportunity to rethink what sport means to the country and what the state owes to its young people.The Games, scheduled for 3 to 11 April 2027 in Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar, will bring together about 3,200 athletes and officials from across South Asia for 346 events in 28 sports. The scale is significant, but the more important question is what Pakistan does with the opportunity.
A successful Games should not begin and end with an opening ceremony. It should leave behind better facilities, stronger sporting institutions and a generation of young Pakistanis who believe that sporting ability can lead somewhere.That matters in a country where more than 60 per cent of the population is young. Pakistan possesses no shortage of athletic talent.
The problem has often been the absence of a system capable of finding that talent and helping it mature. Children play cricket in streets, wrestle in village grounds, run on improvised tracks and compete in sports for which there may be little formal coaching. Some rise despite these obstacles, but many more disappear from competitive sport because they lack facilities, training, equipment or financial support.The Prime Minister’s Youth Program, under its chairman Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, has an important role to play here.
Its stated ambition to provide young people with greater opportunities in sport is welcome, but it must be translated into a durable national program rather than a campaign tied to the Games.
Talent identification should reach schools, colleges, universities and communities far beyond the major cities. A young athlete from a remote district should have a realistic route from a local competition to a national championship and, eventually, an international arena.The South Asian Games can provide the catalyst for that change.
They can also remind policymakers that sporting development is not simply about building stadiums. A modern arena is of little use if there are no qualified coaches, physiotherapists, sports scientists, nutritionists and administrators to support the athletes who use it. Investment must therefore extend beyond concrete and grandstands.
Pakistan needs an ecosystem in which athletes can train properly and pursue sport without having to choose between their ambitions and their livelihoods.There is also a larger diplomatic argument. Sport has long been one of the few spaces in which countries with difficult political relationships can still meet on relatively common ground.
The South Asian Games were established in Kathmandu in 1984 with the broader objective of encouraging peace, friendship and cooperation among countries of the region. Pakistan has hosted them before, and their return after a long gap offers a chance to revive that original spirit.
This is particularly important in South Asia, where political disagreements have repeatedly restricted regional cooperation. Governments may find diplomacy difficult, but athletes can still compete, share accommodation, exchange experiences and form friendships. A race, a wrestling bout or a hockey match does not resolve a diplomatic dispute, but the human contact surrounding it can make the region feel less divided.
The choice of Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar as host cities is also significant. Islamabad can present the country as an organized and modern capital; Lahore brings its deep sporting and cultural traditions; while Peshawar can demonstrate the resilience of a city that has endured years of insecurity. Bringing international athletes to Peshawar would carry a message that peace is not merely a slogan but something that can be experienced in ordinary public life.
Yet the government should resist the temptation to treat the Games as a public-relations exercise. The international reputation of the event will depend on details that are less glamorous than ceremonies and speeches. Transport must work. Accommodation must meet acceptable standards.
Venues must be ready on time. Security must be firm without becoming oppressive. Medical services must be properly equipped, and anti-doping rules must be applied transparently. Any administrative confusion will be noticed by visiting athletes, officials and international media.
The Pakistan Olympic Association has said that equal opportunities for young athletes at national, regional and international levels should remain a priority. That principle should guide preparations. The purpose of hosting the Games is not simply to show that Pakistan can stage a large event. It is to ensure that Pakistani athletes are capable of competing with the best in the region.
That requires a serious talent-hunt program in the months ahead. Coaches should be sent to districts rather than waiting for promising athletes to reach major urban centers. Sporting federations need to work together instead of operating in institutional silos. Schools and universities should become part of the national sporting pipeline. The private sector, too, can contribute through sponsorship and long-term support for athletes rather than limiting its involvement to branding during the Games.
(The writer is a senior journalist covering various beats, can be reached at news@metro-morning.com)
