PESHAWAR, November 23, 2022 – A long time ago, Gianni Merlo, the president of the International Sports Press Association, known as AIPS, started a programme to train young sports journalists. And over the years the life-changing programme has been hugely beneficial to hundreds of participants from all continents, who gained theoretical and practical knowledge of sports journalism.

SUCCESS IN ASIA, the event is usually held in Hong Kong with great success. Young sports journalists from Asia and a few from outside Asia participate. Five men and women who participated in this programme from Pakistan are now offering prominent services in different fields. Considering the importance of the programme, the Pakistan Sports Writers Federation organised the Young Sports Reporters Training Programme in Karachi from November 4 to 9, 2018, in which young sports reporters from Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan and Iran participated. This programme was also very successful.

PEACE AND SPORTS CONFERENCE This time on the occasion of the Peace and Sports Conference held in Peshawar, the Pakistan Sports Writers Federation organised another training programme for young sports journalists with the support of Malik Saad Sports Trust. A total of 52 young men and women participated, including 17 young sports reporters from Afghanistan.

SHAUKAT YOUSAFZAI OPENS THE PROGRAMME The four-day training programme was a very unique occasion in Pakistan. Special arrangements were made for this training programme at China Window, a Chinese cultural centre established in Peshawar. Provincial Minister of Labour and Culture Shaukat Yousafzai, who had also been a journalist, officially inaugurated this training programme. While addressing the gathering Shaukat Yousafzai said that given the importance of digital media, the training is very important and he is happy that the Pakistan Sports Writers Federation had organised it. He also hoped the programme will yield encouraging results in the future.

SQUASH LEGEND Former world squash champion Qamar Zaman shared the events that happened in his squash career with the participants. He said that despite the lack of resources, he achieved remarkable success in squash. Despite the difficulties, he did not get discouraged. He played squash with high spirit and youthful determination and won countless honours for Pakistan. Young sports journalists should also pay tribute to their athletes by reporting positively and constructively. Qamar Zaman said that he is sure that young sports journalists will spare no effort to keep themselves in tune with modern requirements.

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM Syed Aqil Shah, Senior Vice President of Pakistan Olympic Association and President of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association, described the Young Sports Reporters Training Programme as very useful and said that this initiative will give sports journalists the opportunity to learn. He emphasised the importance of sports and during his lecture talked about the sports system in Pakistan. Syed Aqil Shah said that the performance of athletes can be improved through constructive criticism, so sports journalists need to consider the quality of sports rather than discussing the character of a player. He also informed the role of the Pakistan Olympic Association.

BASIC PRINCIPLES In his lecture, senior journalist Arshad Aziz Malik presented the basic principles of journalism to the youth and told them that after studying journalism, it is very important for them to get training in the practical field before getting a job. Training programmes play an important role in this regard, but he hopes that when young sports journalists do sports coverage in practice, they will realize how important it is to know about sports for covering sports events.

MUHAMMAD RIAZ The President of the Peshawar Press Club, Muhammad Riaz, talked about the Peshawar Press Club and also mentioned the sports journalists of Peshawar associated with sports journalism. He said that the sports journalists also get the opportunity to go to abroad to cover the International sports events. He advised young sports journalists that the field is full of learning opportunities to advance so they should take advantage of training programmes. Mohammad Riaz expressed hope that the young sports journalists of Pakistan and Afghanistan participating in the Young Sports Reporters Training Programme will become the best sports journalists in the future.

SYED AZHAR ALI SHAH Syed Azhar Ali Shah, President of Pakistan Cycling Federation and South Asian Cycling Association, while talking to young sports reporters said that sports journalists can do a lot for the promotion of sports. He emphasized that youngsters should prepare themselves for newspapers and electronic media as well as digital media because future is digital media.

MUHAMMAD FAHEEM Iqra University Peshawar lecture and prominent anchor person Muhammad Faheem gave a lecture on digital and social media. He emphasised the need for young sports reporters to study and gain complete knowledge about sports. He said that new entrants in the field of sports journalism must advance in every field. One has to work on new news every day and adapt oneself to modern requirements.

IJAZ AHMAD KHAN The series of lectures continued on the second day of the Young Sports Reporters Training Programme. Pakistan’s senior sports journalist Ijaz Ahmad Khan said that he himself has been a sportsman and during the game he also developed a passion for sports reporting and has been doing sports journalism for about thirty years. He shared his experiences regarding the coverage of national and international competitions.

AAMIR KHAN Senior photographer Aamir Khan, Sports journalist Saad bin Awais, sports organisers Jamshed Baloch and Jaffar Khan described the Young Sports Reporters Training Programme as a very important programme for sports journalists.

On the third and fourth day of the training program, all the participants saw the sports complexes built in the three cities of KP Charsadda, Mardan and Kohat apart from Peshawar, participants visited the Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium.

HEE DON JUNG – AIPS ASIA PRESIDENT The YSRs were surprised to have foreign delegates including the President of AIPS Asia. Hee Don Jung who addressed the Young Sports Reporters and said that many international sports federations provide training opportunities for young sports journalists. At AIPS, President Gianni Merlo started a training series for young reporters which was very successful and today many young reporters are serving as media officers in various international federations. Hee Dong Jung hoped that young sports reporters from Asia would also participate in these events in the future. He paid tribute to the organizers of Pakistan Sports Writers Federation and Malik Saad Memorial Sports Trust for organizing the training program for such a large number of youth. He also distributed certificates amongst the trainees.

EMMANUEL FANTANEANU AIPS executive committee member Emmanuel Fantaneanu also addressed the participating and gave them various tips on sports coverage.

PRACTICAL TRAINING For the practical training of sports reporters, all the participants of the programme visited the Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium, where the in-charge of the stadium and former international cricketer Mir Bashar briefed the reporters and said that the construction and expansion work of Arbab Niaz cricket stadium is in the final stages and very soon it will be completed and the series of international cricket competitions will start again. He informed that no international match was played here after 2006 due to terrorism in Peshawar.

The participants of the training program visited Charsadda Sports Complex where District Sports Officer Tahseen Ullah told that this sports complex is a unique complex of its kind which has indoor sports facilities in addition to outdoor. Different sports were also organised in the complex which is named after Abdul Wali Khan. On this occasion young sports reporters made different reports and conducted interviews with players.

In the second phase, the young sports reporters visited the Mardan Sports Complex where they were informed about the sports facilities by the Regional Sports Officer Nimat Ullah Marwat. Young sports reporters themselves also participated in various sports.

The next day the participants of the training program visited the Peshawar Sports Complex where they were told that Peshawar is a second city in Pakistan where all sports facilities are provided at one place. Apart from hosting national sports, Qayyum Sports Complex has also hosted provincial sports while international football matches have also been organised here. All the participants of the training program also visited Kohat Sports Complex where they were told that in Kohat the construction of the sports complex has been completed. This complex also has all the sports facilities.

The Young Sports Reporters also participated in the International Peace and Sports Conference held in Peshawar and listened to the lively discussions of delegates from Pakistan and abroad. Thus new history was made regarding young sports reporters in Pakistan.

Report by: Asma Sharafat/Rehan Ahmed Khan/Raees Khan
Photos by: Ehtisham Ur Rehman/ Munsif Naveed/ Muhammad Atif

Online Young Sports Reporters Training Program jointly organized by PSWF and AIJA gets underway

PESHAWAR, December 21, 2022 – The Young Sports Reporters Training Programme jointly organised by the Pakistan Sports Writers Federation and the Azerbaijan Sports Journalists Association has started.

On the first day, 70 young sports reporters from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Azerbaijan participated in the online training. AIPS First Vice President Esat Yilmaer said that the present time demands that modern technology be used for the coverage of sports competitions. Today’s age is the age of digital media. He shared his experience related to the World Cup football tournament held in Qatar and said that Qatar provided the best facilities for sports journalists while overall excellent arrangements were made and this is the reason Qatar World Cup will be memorable.

Asif Khan, a member of the executive committee of Pakistan Sports Writers Federation and president of Sports Journalists Association Sindh, highlighted the usefulness of digital media in his lecture. He said that mobile telephones have provided a fast tool for sports coverage. Similarly, social media has also given a new direction to sports coverage. Now, there is a need for sports journalists to leave the old methods of coverage and adapt themselves to the needs of digital media. He also gave tips to young sports reporters on digital and social media coverage.

AIPS Europe executive committee member Nargiz Mahmudzadi said that the training course organized by Pakistan and Azerbaijan Sports Media Associations will continue for five days and will give young sports reporters an opportunity to learn about digital media.

President of Pakistan Sports Writers Federation Amjad Aziz Malik said that the training of young sports reporters was successfully conducted in Peshawar and now after the online program, young sports reporters of Azerbaijan and Pakistan will visit each other’s countries on reciprocal basis, which will give them practical experience.