The preparations for the CM Punjab Youth Games, billed as one of the biggest sporting events in Pakistan’s history, have been accelerated, with the provincial government aiming to register 10 million young athletes and bring five million participants to the playing fields.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar has announced that November 5, 2026 would be the final date for registration for CM Punjab Youth Games, making it clear that the deadline would not be extended. He made this announcement while chairing an important meeting at the National Hockey Stadium on Tuesday.
The high profile meeting was convened to review the preparations and the registration process for the mega sporting event, which is expected to create new records and provide young people from all walks of life with equal opportunities to showcase their sporting talent.
Secretary Sports Punjab Fazal-ur-Rahman, Director General Sports Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi, SBP Vice Chairman Salman Malik, representatives of School Education, Higher Education, Home, Local Government, Labour, Social Welfare and Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) attended the meeting in person while all divisional and district sports officers participated in the meeting online.
The meeting was briefed that a total of 906,000 young people have registered so far, while 62,000 educational institutions are expected to participate in the CM Punjab Youth Games and the inter-divisional finals of the grand event would be held in Lahore in January 2027.
Addressing the meeting, Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that the CM Punjab Youth Games will be a historic sports festival which is expected to break several records. “Guinness World Records team would also visit the event to witness the proceedings. The competitions would be organised from the union council level to the provincial level”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar directed all relevant departments to complete registration and administrative preparations within the stipulated timeframe. “The School Education Department should take effective measures to simplify the registration process and ensure maximum participation. No child in Punjab should miss the opportunity to participate in the CM Punjab Youth Games,” he said.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that the students from madrassas, special schools and educational institutions ranging from primary schools to universities would be encouraged to participate in the grand event. “The students from other provinces studying at universities in Punjab would also be eligible to take part in the CM Punjab Youth Games”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar further announced that the educational institutions demonstrating outstanding performances in the CM Punjab Youth Games would receive special prizes to encourage sporting excellence and promote a competitive sports culture.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar further directed that a meeting of all relevant departments would be held every Monday to review the registration figures, technical issues and preparations. “The technical aspects of registration process would be examined in detail to address any obstacles so that maximum number of male and female athletes could participate in CM Punjab Youth Games”.