الاتحاد الباكستاني لكرة القدمMember Associations

This situation was prompted by the recent hostile takeover of the PFF headquarters in Lahore by a group of protestors and an alleged decision by certain individuals to remove the FIFA-appointed normalisation committee of the PFF led by Haroon Malik and to hand over the leadership of the PFF to Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah.

FIFA issued a letter warning that, should the illegitimate occupation of the PFF headquarters not be lifted and the office bearers recognised by FIFA not be permitted free access to the building to carry out their mandate, the matter would be immediately submitted to the Bureau of the Council for decision.

The decision follows the resignation of the previous PFF normalisation committee chairman and aims to give fresh impetus to the normalisation process.

The composition of the normalisation committee has been confirmed as follows:

• Mr Haroon Malik (chairman)
• Mr Haris Azmat (member)
• Mr Saud Azim Hashimi (member)
• Mr Muhammad Shahid Niaz Khokhar (member)
• Mr Muneer Sadhana (member)

While the normalisation committee chairman and members will assume their duties as of 20 January 2021, their final confirmation is conditional upon the successful completion of an eligibility check carried out by the FIFA Review Committee in accordance with the FIFA Governance Regulations.

All other terms of the mandate of the normalisation committee, as decided by the Bureau of the FIFA Council, remain the same.

The training camp – the first in seven years - kicked off on October 26 with 30 players attending. 

PFF national technical director Daniel Limones supervised the camp along with coaches Qibtia Jamshed Butt, Mohsin-ul-Hasnain and Khurram Shehzad.

While the PFF Normalisation Committee has made significant progress in several aspects and the PFF now has a functional administration supporting football activities, the decision has been taken in order to enable it to complete all of the tasks of its mandate, particularly in light of the general disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan.

A road map has been agreed by the FIFA and AFC administrations and the PFF Normalisation Committee that foresees the full implementation of the latter’s mandate and includes holding an elective PFF Congress by the end of December 2020.

The meeting was to discuss the progress of the Normalisation Committee which is tasked with holding PFF Executive Committee elections by June 2020 by the Bureau of the FIFA Council.

Dato' Windsor said: "We expect this NC to focus mainly on two tasks, holding the elections at all levels and running the day-to-day football affairs by ensuring Pakistan’s participation in international and regional competitions.

The decision follows the recent FIFA/AFC fact-finding mission to Pakistan, which concluded that only free, fair and transparent elections of the PFF executive committee would reunite the football stakeholders in Pakistan and set the basis for the development of football which has been at a standstill since 2015.

The mandate of the normalisation committee will include the following:

1. To run the PFF’s daily affairs;
2. To ensure the proper registration and scrutiny of the clubs in Pakistan;
3. To draft and ratify, with the assistance of FIFA and the AFC, an electoral code for the PFF;
4. To organise and conduct elections at district followed by provincial levels; and
5. To organise and conduct the elections of a new PFF executive committee.

The normalisation committee will be composed of an adequate number of members to be identified by the FIFA administration, in consultation with the AFC and relevant local stakeholders. In line with the FIFA Governance Regulations, all members of the normalisation committee will be subject to an eligibility check.

The normalisation committee will act as an electoral committee, whose decisions are final and binding, and the specified period of time during which it will perform its functions will expire as soon as it has fulfilled all of its tasks but no later than nine months after its members have been officially appointed by FIFA.

FIFA and the AFC will now begin the task of identifying, interviewing and selecting the members of the normalisation committee – an update will be provided on that matter in due course.

Coach Majid Shafiq was a former Director of the academy at Stalybridge Celtic while Sheffield Wednesday youth academy product Shani Abbasi, who also had trials with Huddersfield Town, and Irfan Khan, who played for semi-professional sides Thackley United and Bradford Park Avenue, represented Pakistan at under 21 and 23 levels.

“We’re getting a coach and two players from England along with two others from Nigeria because we just don’t want to participate, we want to win,” K-Electric’s Head of Sports Marketing and Brand Activation Zabe Khan told The Express Tribune. 

“Shafiq is willing to help us without charging a single penny, while Shani and Irfan are both of Pakistani origin, so it would be handy to have footballers who know what it’s like to play both in England and Pakistan.”

K-Electric, who denied 2013 AFC President’s Cup runners-up KRL a fourth consecutive Pakistan Premier League crown with their maiden triumph in the 2014/15 competition, open their campaign to reach the 2016 AFC Cup play-offs on August 11 when they face Group A hosts Druk United before taking on Mongolia’s Khormkhon two days after their meeting with the Bhutanese champions.

Needing a win following a goalless draw with Kyrgyzstan in their opening match, Kuwait came flying out of the blocks and had taken a two-goal lead with less than ten minutes at the Al Qattara Stadium played courtesy of Faisal Al Azemi’s quickfire brace.

But the Qadsia SC striker’s third and eighth minute goals would be the only times that Pakistan keeper Saqib Hanif would be picking the ball out the back of his net as the South Asians recovered from the early setback and kept the Kuwaitis at bay for the remaining 82 minutes.

Pakistan, who had been scheduled to host the qualifiers back in March before the venue was moved to the UAE due to the security situation in Lahore following the troubles in the Youhanabad area of the city, will be looking to end their campaign on a positive note when they take on Kyrgyzstan as Group B, and the qualifying tournament, reaches its on Wednesday.

Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams from all groups will join hosts Qatar at the AFC U-23 Championship 2016, with January’s 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio.

Group B of the qualifiers was originally scheduled to be played back in March only for the venue to shift to the UAE due to the security situation in Lahore following the troubles in the Youhanabad area of the city and the change of locale did de facto hosts Pakistan no favours at all, with Mahmoud Al Mardi putting Jordan 1-0 up with the first of his double.

Saleh Ibrahim, who had helped Al Wehdat to a 4-0 win over Al Nahda in the final group stage match of the 2015 AFC Cup four days earlier, added a second in the 23^rd minute to give the Jordanians a two-goal cushion to take into the interval.

Pakistan held out for almost 20 minutes of the second half with Al Mardi extending Jordan’s advantage in the 64^th minute before substitute Laith Al Bashtawi made it 4-0 two minutes later, having only just replaced Ehsen Manel Hadad in the 62^nd minute.

And Al Bashtawi, a team-mate of Saleh Ibrahim’s at Al Wehdat, completed the scoring with his second and Jordan’s fifth in the 79^th minute as Jamal Abu Abed’s side made a confident start in their quest to qualify for Qatar 2016.

Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams from all groups will join hosts Qatar at the AFC U-23 Championship 2016, with January’s 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio.

The 15 qualifiers for Qatar 2016 will be complete following the conclusion of Group B on May 20.

Kuwait and Kyrgyzstan make up the remaining qualification hopefuls with Group B reduced to four teams following the withdrawal of Turkmenistan.

In a rare fixture between the two South Asian nations, Pakistan, minus several first team regulars, went ahead courtesy of Muhammad Riaz’s header after 18 minutes, only for Afghanistan to draw level shortly before the hour mark when striker Amiruddin Anwar found the net.

Pakistan were, however, not to be denied and they duly sealed the win when Hassan Bashir’s pinpoint free-kick was expertly converted by Saad on 88 minutes.

“Despite the big names not coming, the fringe players showed what they are capable of,” Pakistan coach Mohammed Al Shamlan told the Dawn newspaper.

“The victory shows that we have strength in depth. The team played brilliantly. It’s always satisfying for a coach to see the team playing to its potential,” he added.

Pakistan’s victory comes ahead of Tuesday’s draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Preliminary qualifying competition – which will also serve as the qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Al Shamlan’s charges will enter the fray at the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 stage where potential opponents include India, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei and Timor-Leste.

Photo: AFP

The former KRL Football Club striker, who was instrumental in KRL’s journey to the final of the AFC President’s Cup 2013, had joined FC Dordoi on a five-month contract in February but a series of impressive performances helped him secure a mega-money contract which will see him playing for the Kyrgyz champions until 2016.
Such was his influence in the team that he scored 17 goals in 16 matches he played in the league so far becoming the Kyrgyzstan League’s top scorer. The PPFL record goal scorer had netted 35 goals in a single campaign and was the PPFL player of the year for 2012-13.
“It’s a big honour to become the first Pakistani to sign a contract like this, and I think it’s the right decision for me,” the 22-year old was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.
“We have just finished our season here on July 12, and now I’m positive that I want to stay with FC Dordoi. The amount I am getting for the club till 2016 has made my future secure,” said Kaleemullah, who had struck the solitary goal against his current side Dordoi in the last year’s President’s Cup finals.
“FC Dordoi have also been the AFC President’s Cup champions as well. They have been one of the best clubs in Central Asia, so I’m glad that my five-month contract was extended this way,” he added.

After the completion of the penultimate round, KRL have 68 points – five clear of KESC who are on par with former AFC President’s Cup participants WAPDA with 63 points with a match in hand.

The newly crowned champions KRL will face KESC this weekend in their final match of the domestic campaign.

“I am really happy that after some ups and downs we finally completed the hat-trick of titles,” KRL coach Tariq Lutfi was quoted as saying by ‘The News’ after the match.

The title triumph of KRL is third in row after they won the league titles in 2011 and 2012.

“It was a tough league this year. Our performance was down initially. The pressure was on me and on the boys,” Lutfi, who ensured KRL’s runner-up finish in last year’s AFC President’s Cup final, added.

The victory also put KRL in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President’s Cup 2014, the group stage of which will be held in May followed by the finals in September.