Pakistan Sports Board backs Rs100m Olympic gold prize as senators question how athletes are supported
The proposed award would rise from Rs30 million to Rs100 million. At Parliament House, senators also asked who tracks athletes’ results, how federations are funded and what needs to change at Islamabad’s football facilities.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has approved a proposal to raise the cash prize for an Olympic gold medal to Rs100 million (Rs10 crore), its director general told a Senate committee on Wednesday. The proposal still needs further discussion with the Finance Division. The briefing opened a wider debate at Parliament House over how Pakistan funds athletes before they compete and who assesses their results afterwards.
The Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination, chaired by Senator Dilawar Khan, also heard from the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) about FIFA funding, plans to distribute footballs to schools and the need to improve an outdoor pitch at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad. Separately, senators questioned Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Rana Sanaullah’s absence from the meeting. Sanaullah also serves as president of the PSB.
What Would Change for Olympic Medallists?
PSB Director General Yawar Hussain told the committee that the board had approved the proposed cash award policy and that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a committee in the Finance Division. Inter-Provincial Coordination Secretary Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani said the revised policy had been recommended for further discussion with the Finance Division. Officials gave no start date for the higher award during the briefing.
Hussain traced the award back to 2007, when, he said, an Olympic gold medallist was eligible for Rs10 million, a silver medallist for Rs5 million and a bronze medallist for Rs2 million. The PSB’s July 2025 notification lists Rs30 million for individual Summer Olympic gold, Rs20.5 million for silver and Rs10 million for bronze. The new gold proposal would more than triple the Rs30 million figure. The briefing notes identify the proposed gold award and give no revised figures for silver or bronze.
Why Arshad Nadeem’s Rewards Came Up
Wani told senators that government bodies had given javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem rewards worth up to Rs1 billion (Rs100 crore) after his gold medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, excluding private-sector rewards. Senator Rubina Khalid questioned the figure in light of remarks she attributed to Nadeem about receiving little support. The briefing notes contain no itemised account of the payments and no response from Nadeem.
Public records document several awards made after Nadeem set an Olympic record with a 92.97-metre throw. The Press Information Department recorded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presenting him with a Rs150 million cheque. President Asif Ali Zardari initially announced Rs100 million at Nadeem’s Hilal-i-Imtiaz ceremony, while Radio Pakistan later reported that Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan presented a Rs150 million cheque on the president’s behalf. Those two presidential figures describe different stages of the award and cannot be added together. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz separately presented a Rs100 million cheque and a car, according to contemporaneous reporting. The records reviewed do not establish the full Rs1 billion figure cited by Wani.
The prime minister also announced in August 2024 that an Arshad Nadeem High Performance Academy would be established at Islamabad’s Jinnah Stadium to prepare athletes for the 2028 Olympics. He announced a separate Rs1 billion sports endowment fund at the same event. That fund was announced for sports development and is separate from the rewards Wani attributed to Nadeem.
Who Tracks Results After Public Money Is Spent?
Wani said the PSB funds federations to help them participate in international events and holds them accountable for how they use the money. Senator Rubina Khalid asked who evaluates the sporting results once teams return. She argued that a policy focused on rewarding winners also needed to address why Pakistani athletes and teams struggle to win at international events.
The discussion also raised a question about cricket. Wani said the Pakistan Cricket Board was autonomous, received no government funding and came under the federal cabinet’s purview. Senator Syed Kazim Ali Shah argued that cricket should also fall within the committee’s oversight. The exchange followed the panel’s September review of the draft National Sports Policy 2026 and a proposed long-term athlete development programme.
Football Funding and Islamabad’s Pitches
PFF Chief Operating Officer Shahid Khokhar told the committee that FIFA provides the federation with Rs350 million (Rs35 crore) and that separate funding is available for individual events. The briefing notes give no funding period or breakdown for the Rs350 million figure. FIFA’s published Forward 3.0 programme sets separate funding limits for operations and development projects. It does not establish the specific amount or payment period cited at the hearing. Wani told the panel that the PFF does not draw funding from the government. Senator Abdul Qadir urged the federation to use its international contacts to secure more support.
Khokhar said FIFA had supplied more than 160,000 footballs for planned distribution to schools. He briefed senators on Islamabad’s national futsal championship and talent hunt and highlighted under-13 development. Football, futsal and beach football fall under the PFF’s remit in Pakistan, according to a PSB adjudication published this year.
Wani told the committee that Islamabad had 15 football grounds, including two at the Pakistan Sports Complex. Khokhar said Jinnah Stadium already offered training facilities and identified an outdoor pitch at the complex as needing improvement. Federation officials estimated that preparing a football pitch costs about Rs10 million. The briefing did not announce funding or a timetable for the Islamabad upgrade.
Khokhar cited two recent results as signs of progress. Pakistan’s men beat Afghanistan 2–0 in the Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament final in Malé in June, their first standalone international title in decades. Pakistan’s women beat the Turks and Caicos Islands 8–0 in the FIFA Women’s Series in April. FIFA lifted its most recent suspension of the PFF in March 2025 after the federation approved constitutional changes. The federation had faced separate suspensions in 2017 and 2021.
Senators Question Minister’s Absence and Return to Flour Supply
Dilawar Khan said he had asked Rana Sanaullah to attend Wednesday’s meeting and told senators that the minister had yet to attend a session of the committee. The chairman also questioned the level of participation among senators, saying the committee could not work effectively without their engagement. Senators Syed Kazim Ali Shah and Rubina Qaim Khani raised concerns about the minister’s attendance, and Qaim Khani proposed writing to him. The briefing notes record her proposal and contain no response from the minister.
The chairman also revisited the movement of flour between provinces. He said Sohail Afridi should have attended an earlier discussion on the issue and that the committee had planned to speak to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. Dilawar urged provincial authorities to settle such disputes through direct talks. At its September 29 meeting, the committee examined wheat transport delays and sought written input from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa food officials on keeping supplies moving.
