After several meetings, the Ministry of Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) and the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Normalisation Committee have agreed in principle upon the roadmap presented by the latter to complete the election process of the country’s football governing body in eight months’ time after it is handed over the PFF headquarters. It is very encouraging to see the roadmap being finalised given that it was a major demand from the IPC ministry which was looking to speed up the resolution of the long-running dispute in the PFF—which was further exacerbated when Pakistan was suspended by FIFA in April.
The suspension came about due to an unfortunate set of events where the PFF headquarters were taken over from the Normalisation Committee by the court-elected PFF President Ashfaq Hussain. Thankfully, this chapter is behind us now and the federal government is eager to get the FIFA suspension lifted.
With everything now in place, the hope is that the elections are held within the constitutional time-frame in a transparent manner in order to avoid any future grievances and internal tussles. As it is, sports other than cricket barely receive any patronage in this country, and it is unfortunate to see such issues pose even more hurdles.
Because of this suspension, it has been a difficult time where the footballing talent in Pakistan has suffered. The football culture in Pakistan—particularly in places like Gilgit Baltistan, Balochistan, and Lyari—is extremely promising and we must work to facilitate the growth of the sport. The PTI government’s Kamyab Jawan Programme has struck a partnership with Global Soccer Ventures (GSV) to groom local talent. We need many more similar initiatives because there is a lot of untapped potential. What is required is substantial investment in infrastructure and a structured system for the players to rise through, alongside facilities such as grounds, floodlight, and other equipment to ensure that aspiring young players can be provided with a viable pathway for pursuing a career in the sport.
