In a landmark initiative for sports development in Punjab province, Provincial Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar has inaugurated 19 free Chief Minister Sports Academies, marking the first programme of its kind in the province’s history.
Among the dignitaries present were Sports Board Punjab (SBP) Vice-Chairman Salman Malik, Secretary Youth Affairs and Sports Punjab Fazal ur Rehman and Director General Sports Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi.
Besides them, Director Sports Chand Perveen, Director Admin Abid Shaukat, Deputy Director Zahoor Ahmed, Hafeez Bhatti and more than 2,000 male and female athletes and their parents also attended the mega opening ceremony at the Punjab Stadium on Tuesday.
The CM Punjab Sports Academies will offer structured training under experienced coaches in 19 sports disciplines, including cricket, football, hockey, basketball, badminton, tennis, boxing, wrestling, swimming, table tennis, karate, taekwondo, archery, squash, wushu, ju-jitsu, athletics, laser run, and kabaddi.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that the academies will provide free, training in 19 different sports throughout the year, offering young athletes access to modern coaching methods and high-quality sports facilities. “More than 2,500 boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 19 have already been registered for the program”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said the academies are being established under the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to identify and develop future sports champions. He emphasized that children enrolled in the academies will receive training throughout the year at no cost. “The project will initially be implemented in Lahore during the first phase, with plans to expand its reach to district and divisional level across Punjab in subsequent phases”.
Highlighting the provincial government's commitment to sports development, Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that Punjab recently outperformed all other provinces in the National Games and Quaid-e-Azam Games. “The young athletes being trained through the academies could one day represent Pakistan on the international stage and win Olympic gold medals”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar also praised Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for organizing the province’s first-ever Pink Games, describing it as a significant step toward promoting women’s participation in sports. To underscore his confidence in the initiative, the provincial minister stated that even his own children would receive training at the CM Sports Academies.
In his welcome address, Director General Sports Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi said the academies will play a key role in providing equal sporting opportunities to youth across Punjab while strengthening the province’s talent development system for future national and international competitions. “In our academies, we are following China model in which our first objective is to bring youth into the grounds and then groom them for international sports events”.