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Is It Time to Modernize Pakistan’s Sports Law?

Is It Time to Modernize Pakistan’s Sports Law?

Pakistan has never lacked sporting talent. From Olympic medalists and squash champions to internationally recognized cricketers and mountaineers, the country’s athletes have repeatedly demonstrated that excellence can emerge even in the absence of ideal systems. Therein lies the problem: sporting success often occurs despite the system, rather than because of it.

For a country with more than 240 million people and over forty national sports federations representing disciplines ranging from hockey and boxing to football, fencing and jiu-jitsu, Pakistan’s sports governance framework remains surprisingly thin. At the center of that framework sits legislation that predates much of the modern sporting world.

A Legal Framework from Another Era

The principal statutory foundation for sports governance in Pakistan originates in the Pakistan Sports Board Ordinance 1962. The Ordinance established the Pakistan Sports Board (“PSB”) and created the federal architecture through which sports development, infrastructure and international participation could be supported. At the time, this framework served its purpose. Sport was largely amateur, the commercial dimensions were limited and the regulatory complexity of international sporting bodies was far smaller.

Over sixty years later, the global sports ecosystem has transformed dramatically. Sport now intersects with governance standards, athlete welfare regimes, commercial investment, media rights, data analytics and increasingly sophisticated international regulatory systems. Pakistan’s statutory architecture has remained largely unchanged.

Constitutional Complexity After the 18th Amendment

Sports governance in Pakistan must also be understood within the country’s constitutional framework. The 18th........

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