Pakistan Hockey League formally launched in Islamabad, with a first season planned for 2027 and six to eight franchise teams

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hockey Federation formally launched the Pakistan Hockey League in the capital on Wednesday, setting out the project it hopes will drag the national sport back towards commercial and competitive health. The launch is the starting gun rather than the tournament itself: the first season is planned for 2027.

Six to eight franchise teams are expected in that opening edition. The league rights sit with Mediacast, which won them through a bidding process earlier this year, and the structure is being modelled on franchise competitions such as the FIH Hockey Pro League and the Indian Hockey League — city-based teams, private owners and sponsors, and a calendar built for broadcasters rather than around them.

Foreign players are central to the pitch

Leading international players are to be contracted alongside Pakistan’s own, which the federation argues gives local players a dressing room education no training camp can replicate. Pakistani coaches and support staff are likewise expected to work with foreign experts in areas from sports science to league operations. The commercial case rests on the usual franchise pillars — broadcast and digital rights, sponsorship, merchandising, ticketing and grassroots programmes attached to each team.

The real test starts now

Pakistan’s hockey history needs no embellishment; Olympic and World Cup titles made the green shirt feared for decades. The federation’s own framing is that this history has to become the foundation of a modern, sustainable structure instead of a source of nostalgia. Team names, owners, venues and fixtures are still to come, and those details will decide whether Wednesday’s launch marks a genuine turning point for the sport or simply another well-staged announcement.