Football federation officials forced to vacate headquarters in Lahore

LAHORE: The officials of the Normalisation Committee (NC) of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) were forced to vacate their headquarters in Lahore on Tuesday due to a disagreement with the Punjab Revenue Department regarding the lease of the building.

This development came after a district and sessions court in Lahore lifted a stay order that PFF had previously obtained.

Moreover, the building has now been occupied by Punjab Revenue Department officials. They claim that the lease was terminated in 2021.

However, according to PFF sources, the organisation will discuss the matter and inform Fifa, the governing body of football, about the situation after today's Fifa World Cup 2026 qualifier against Cambodia, which is being held in Islamabad.

“There are 11 years remaining in the lease. The previous management is responsible for this debacle. We weren’t given a notice as well in advance as well,” the source added.

Pakistan are confident of winning their first-ever World Cup qualifying round win against Cambodia in a return match (second leg) at the Jinnah Stadium on Tuesday (today) afternoon.

Since Pakistan's players put their feet on the field for the first-ever World Cup qualifying outing (Italia 1990), they have never won a qualifier. On Tuesday chances of achieving their first-ever win are there following the goalless first-leg draw in Cambodia.

Pakistan only managed to draw three of the 32 games they have played so far in an effort to make it to the World Cup, scoring 10 goals against 124 they conceded.

It rained almost all day Monday in Islamabad, a day ahead of the match, making it difficult for the opposing teams to use the Stadium field for one final training session.

The Cambodian team had to be content with a training session at the indoor Liaquat Gymnasium while Naseer Bunda Hockey turf was used by the host country players for a shorter training stint. The forecast for Tuesday however is encouraging.