Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) President Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat announced on Saturday that the PFF would begin to focus on the game once again, adding that “much has been destroyed in the last three years.”
Addressing a news conference after the federation’s first executive committee meeting in the wake of its membership restoration by FIFA, the sport’s international governing body, Hayat promised to renew the country’s domestic and international football activity.
“The PFF National Challenge Cup will inaugurate our football activities, which will be followed by other domestic and international football events, including the Pakistan Premier League, the National Women’s Championship, and referee and coaching courses. Other than that, the Pakistan national football teams will also participate in the Asian Games and SAFF Championship along with the Women;s U-16 and U-19 SAFF Championships,” he told the media.
The PFF president announced that the U-16 Women’s Championship would be dedicated to Shahlyla Baloch, the Pakistan national team’s striker who died in a car accident in Karachi in 2016.
FIFA recently restored the membership rights of PFF that were suspended in October 2017 on the charges of “third-party intervention.” The rights were given back when the PFF body, led by Hayat, took over the charge after a court order three weeks ago.
Hayat described the recent events as the new dawn for football in Pakistan. He praised his PFF colleagues, players, coaches, referees, organizers and the media who strived to bring back the game to the country even when the football fields remained barren in Pakistan.
He told the media that the PFF headquarters had been badly damaged in the past three years, adding that its renovation would cost SR33 million ($8.81 million).
“We have written a letter to the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) to issue a special grant to bring the PFF headquarters back into its previous state,” he said.
Hayat said the past three years had destroyed football in Pakistan and many of the projects launched by his administration had been stopped, creating a tough situation for players, coaches and other stakeholders.
He claimed that owing to the club culture established by PFF under his headship, international football clubs had picked eight talented Pakistani players, including two females, on very lucrative contracts. “Pakistan was also awarded the AFC Aspiring Nation Award in 2013,” he said.
The PFF president was optimistic that the current management of the federation would take the sport to new heights in Pakistan through its hard work and dedication.
