ISLAMABAD - The International Soccer Futsal Cup 2018 will commence from February 16 here at the Pakistan Sports Complex, Liaqat Gymnasium.

Addressing a press conference, Pakistan Soccer Futsal Federation (PSFF) chairman Malik Meherban Ali said: “It will be for the first time that international futsal event is being conducted in the country where Pakistan entered two teams including Pakistan Greens and Pakistan Whites, while Brazil, Turkey, Nepal and Afghanistan teams will also be seen in action during the 3-day event.

The teams have been divided into two groups while the semifinals will be held on February 17 and the final on 18th. The participating teams will reach Islamabad by February 15, while Brazilian team will visit the Pakistan for the first time. “Futsal is very popular in the world, but it is taking roots in Pakistan gradually,” he added.

Meherban said every team will be consisting of 5 players each. “We will detect fresh talent and also send them aboard for further training. We are also trying to ensure Pakistan’s participation in the Futsal World Cup. The South Asian Futsal president, technical director and Australian coach will also visit Pakistan during the event.” He thanked the IPC Minister and PSB Director General for providing facilities at Pakistan Sports Complex.

It was quite interesting to note that the futsal federation is not affiliated with PSB but they claimed that IPC Minister Riaz Pirzada and PSB DG Akhtar Ganjera will be present during the press conference, but both remained absent.

Another interesting thing was that the Asian Futsal Association has sent warning letter to the Pakistan Soccer Futsal Federation president on 24-1-2018, in which the president was informed that secretary Malik Adnan Ahmad was removed from treasurer post of SAFA and the Pakistan Futsal Federation was asked to remove Adnan from secretary slot and warned the federation not to conduct any international event without informing them and president Haji Tarik was given directives that if he wanted to save the federation, he would have taken action against Adnan and inform them soon.

At one end, the PSB is not in a mood to extend facilities to the affiliated federations with the only exception of their blue-eyed ones, but on the other hand, the PSB is extending all-out support and help to those federations and associations, which have suspicious reputation. It is high time when the IPC minister must open his eyes and stop his blue-eyed PSB DG from wrongdoings and wasting national exchequer on non-affiliated federations.

The record and tenure of Ganjera is filled with a great number of irregularities and wrongdoings but despite knowing all, the IPC minister is still keen to get extension for him as PSB DG. Dr Waqar is one of the most senior and dedicated PSB employees, while he also enjoys huge reputation, but he is not in the minister’s good books, as he is least bothered to spent time in the minister’s office, rather busy in performing his official duties. M Shahid and Ali Hassan Broohi were the other reputed names, who deserve to be PSB DG.

It is quite strange that National Assembly Standing Committee on IPC formed four-member committee to recommend new PSB DG. The question arises here that what is the reason that the minister is not ready to let the deserving most senior person in the PSB to take over the DG slot? What is the hidden agenda and why the minister is so anxious to have Ganjera even after his retirement? The time is high when the PM must conduct a high-level inquiry, as he will come to know a lot of wrongdoings in the PSB under the nose of the IPC minister.

Rs 35 million were spent on Allama Iqbal Hostel and Fatima Jinnah Hostel renovation/maintenance work, but the bathrooms, kitchen and roofs are telling the exact nature of the work. XEN Ijaz Akbar, who is so powerful that he doesn’t bother to take calls and charging bills on MEXS patron, used only in Army. When this scribe filed story on PSB DDG Finance not ready to provide documents of Quaid-e-Azam Games, Ganjera took all the documents and payments record and kept in his locker. When Ganjera was asked why he was hiding the record, Ganjera refused to talk and said he was busy.