Secretary Sports Inaugurates Capacity Building Programme to Boost Athlete Performance

By Dr Ansab Ali | Lahore, Pakistan
LAHORE: Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Muhammad Ali, along with Director General Sports Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi, inaugurated a high-profile Capacity Building Programme at the Institute of Sports Sciences Punjab on Tuesday.
The initiative, launched by the Punjab Youth Affairs and Sports Department in collaboration with the Health Services Academy, aims to enhance the professional skills of divisional, district, and tehsil sports officers, as well as coaches, trainers, administrators, and athletes.
The programme will provide modern training in sports administration, coaching techniques, and physical education. Experts and master trainers will also deliver specialized sessions on injury management, nutrition, and rehabilitation.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Secretary Sports Muhammad Ali said the programme is designed to improve the performance of athletes and equip coaches with the latest techniques in line with modern-day requirements. He emphasized that proper training is essential for athletes to achieve peak performance.
He further noted that foreign master trainers would also be invited to contribute to the programme, with a primary focus on long-term player development. He added that Punjab currently has 717 operational sports facilities, including complexes, stadiums, courts, and grounds.
Director General Sports Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi highlighted that the initiative aligns with the provincial government’s declaration of 2026 as the “Year of Youth.” He said efforts are underway to engage maximum participation of students from schools and colleges in sports and healthy activities.
Qureshi added that the programme aims to produce master trainers across multiple sports disciplines who can contribute to developing world-class coaches and athletes, both male and female.
He also announced that a comprehensive sports calendar has been prepared, under which major sporting events will be organized at tehsil, district, and divisional levels. These events will include both Olympic sports and traditional games such as kabaddi and mud wrestling across the province.
Senior officials, including Abid Shaukat, M Fahad, Zahoor Ahmed, Shaista Qaiser, Yasmeen Akhtar, Dr Ijaz Asghar, Dr Asad Abbas Shah, Dr Moazzam Tanveer, Dr Iftikhar Ahmed, Dr Safdar Baloch, and Dr Habibullah, along with a large number of coaches, trainers, and athletes, attended the ceremony.