KARACHI, 27 July 2007 — The Champions Trophy next December in Lahore is likely to be relocated to some other venue outside Pakistan after Olympic champions Australia were reported to have already decided to withdraw from the elite six-nation hockey tournament.

Hockey Australia was said to have informed the International Hockey Federation (FIH) about its inability to send a team to the Champions Trophy because of the prevailing turmoil in Pakistan.

Spain, another of the participating teams in the 2007 Champions Trophy set for December 1-9, may also pull out of the tournament citing security reasons.

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) officials, however, are denying such reports and there is also no official word from the Lausanne-based FIH — world hockey’s governing body.

But Arab News learned that there is a strong possibility that the FIH may shift the Champions Trophy to some other venue, possibly in Europe, citing lack of safety for the players of the competing teams and officials in Pakistan.

Australia stayed away from the 2004 Champions Trophy which was also held in Lahore just months after winning their maiden Olympic title in Athens because of security reasons. At that time, no other team raised any such concerns and the tournament went ahead according to schedule.

But earlier in 2001, the Champions Trophy was moved from Lahore to Holland after competing teams refused to visit Pakistan in the aftermath of the 9-11 incidents in the United States.

Currently, Pakistan is going through a violent phase because of a spate of suicide bombings in various parts of the country, which have left dozens dead and injured.

The Australian government has already posted a travel advisory asking its citizens to refrain from visiting Pakistan. Several other Western governments have also taken similar steps.

However, top PHF officials are not worried. “The Champions Trophy is still more than four months away and it is too early to say anything,” PHF secretary Khalid Mehmood told Arab News. “We haven’t heard anything from the FIH or Hockey Australia and have all reasons to believe that there is no danger to the Champions Trophy,” added the PHF secretary.

Apart from Australia and Spain, other teams scheduled to compete in the Champions Trophy are world champions Germany, Holland and Korea.