Author: Shameneh Majid
Claim: An image shows Pakistan’s national hockey team left to sit out on the street in Canberra, Australia during the FIH Pro League because of unpaid hotel dues.
Fact: The image is AI-generated.
Social media pages, news outlets such as Dawn, The Australia Today, and Indian media platform NDTV Sports, shared an AI-generated photo of players from the Pakistan hockey team sitting on a sidewalk with their luggage. The Australia Today shared the image with a caption saying: “Pakistan hockey players left homeless in Canberra after booking chaos (Source: X)”
Dawn also published the image, on 18 February 2026, in the print edition of the newspaper’s Sports section, captioned as: “”PAKISTAN hockey team players stranded in Australia”
The image is as follows:
Source: The Australian
The AI-generated photo depicts the players looking distraught as they were allegedly stranded outside without confirmed accommodation during the FIH Pro League in February 2026.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check could not find the original photo online.
We then checked if the image is authentic and ran it through multiple online tools which detect AI-generated or modified content. The image was verified using Google Gemini which is known for its advanced NanoBanana technology, ZeroGPT which has a broad database, and UndetectableAI which closely analyzes image elements.
Gemini’s generative model confirmed that all or part of the image was created using AI. ZeroGPT said that the photo is 99% fake while UndetectableAI concluded that the image was likely created with AI and only 1% real. Each of these tools was used for the extensive algorithms, credibility and reliability, and the variation helped triangulate each platform’s results.
Here are the results:
Gemini concluded that the photo is AI-generated.
ZeroGPT says that the photo is 99% fake.
UndetectableAI found that the image is likely created by AI and only 1% real.
Through our own visual analysis, we found that the image has inconsistencies. Not only is the location Canberra Avenue, a street in Sydney, seemingly random, but it is also suburban. Additionally, the faces also appear blurred or have unnatural features, particularly those of the men sitting down. Some individuals’ fingers look misshapen and warped. The biggest giveaway, however, is the Gemini logo at the bottom right of the photo.
In addition to finding that the claim and image are AI-generated, we also found that it is an exaggeration of the team’s actual challenges with accommodation.
Pakistan’s national hockey team participated in the FIH Pro League, short for the International Hockey Federation (originating from its French name, Fédération Internationale de Hockey), which was hosted at the Tasmania Hockey Center in Hobart, Australia. The Pro League tournament, which serves as a qualifier for the World Cup, was held from 10-15 February this year. During the tour, Pakistan’s team did face significant accommodation issues due to alleged misallocation of funds. However, contrary to the claim, they were still not left “stranded” on the streets.
Initially facing visa rejections due to incorrectly filed forms, the team eventually received their approval and arrived in Sydney after departing on 5 February 2026. However, they were not provided with accommodation or meals during their extensive 12-hour layover, according to this report. The Pakistan Hockey Federation’s failure to make arrangements led to the players seeking out accommodation with friends and community members.
After arriving in Hobart on 7 February they were made to wait at the DoubleTree by Hilton for three hours after being informed that their accommodation was no longer available and had been cancelled due to non-payment. The team faced these challenges in Sydney and then Hobart, Australia; they were not present in Canberra at any point contrary to the claim.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation stated that they did not have funds available to secure accommodation, a statement which the Pakistan Sports Board refuted, sharing that $115 per day had been allotted for each player earlier by the Board.
Following the mismanagement, the team was urgently moved to an Airbnb and subsequently a remote cabin 90-minutes from the venue. Alongside other administrative pitfalls that affected the team’s performance, the mishandling of accommodation prompted a formal inquiry by PM Shehbaz Sharif and Advisor to the Prime Minister on Inter-provincial Coordination Rana Sanaullah. As a result, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Tariq Hussain Bugti resigned.
Though it is true that the team’s accommodation and transportation arrangements were mismanaged, the players were not photographed stranded on the sidewalk outside of a hotel as shown in the image being fact-checked. Moreover, our investigation suggests that the image is AI-generated.
Virality
The claim appeared on Facebook here and here.
It was shared on Instagram here. It was shared on X here.
Conclusion:
The image of the Pakistan hockey team left sitting outside of a hotel during the February 2026 FIH Pro League is AI-generated.
Background image in cover photo: The Australia Today.
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