Lausanne, Switzerland, April 4, 2023: The President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Tayyab Ikram, has been in contact with the family of Shahida Raza, who died in February when the boat she was on sank off the coast of Italy.
Shahida, a member of Pakistan’s women’s hockey team, had been trying to reach Italy to get medical treatment for her three-year-old son.
The FIH President said: “It’s our duty to support and protect our athletes’ and their families’ welfare. We are currently looking at how we can best help to support Shahida Raza’s family, in particular for the provision of medical treatment to her son. In such tragic circumstances, we have to stand next to our athletes.”
Tayyab also held talks with Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) President Fumio Ogura in order to involve the AHF as well.
He thanked the numerous people from the global hockey community who had expressed their profound sadness about this tragedy.
The FIH President highlighted the need to look into how it can be ensured that athletes are able to make earnings that allow them to provide for themselves and their families, so they do not suffer such types of tragedies.
BBC News reported on March 2 that Shahida, 27, died in a shipwreck off the coast of Italy on Sunday, February 26. The wooden boat was thought to be carrying around 200 people; over 60 are known to have died.