First Pakistan Football Summit takes place in Lahore

KARACHI : The first Pakistan Football Summit was held at a local hotel in Lahore in the presence of FIFA and AFC delegation, which observed and analyzed the work of the FIFA-appointed Normalization Committee under the chairmanship of Haroon Malik, terming it satisfactory and also assured their all-out support for the betterment and promotion of football in Pakistan.

The delegation, consisting of Rolf Tanner, Head of MA Governance (FIFA), Andrei Vashkevich, Regional Office Development Coordinator (FIFA), Purushottam Kattel, Head of South Asia Unit (AFC), was comprehensively briefed about the football issues in Pakistan by Chairman NC Haroon Malik and member Shahid Niaz Khokhar. The other notable ones present during the discussion were NC members Saud Hashimi, Haris Azmat and football stakeholders, who also shared their views, issues and suggestions with the delegation, who, after a long and fruitful session during the Summit, expressed satisfaction on the work being done by the Normalisation Committee for football in Pakistan.

On the occasion, PFF NC Chairman Haroon Malik said: “In the 74 years of Pakistan's history, the things we have been doing now, never executed by anyone else. There is no record of clubs in the Football Federation and there is a dire need to systemize it and once it is done in a systemized way, the same clubs will be part of the FIFA family and our talented footballers can be picked up by any big club of Asia and the world. That day will be the historic day in Pakistan’s history and from that day onward, Pakistani footballs can be seen in action exhibiting their prowess in the world’s big football leagues.

“Right now, we are trying to complete the database of football according to the PFF Constitution while the elections of the Pakistan Football Federation will be conducted in 165 days after the scrutiny of the clubs. Everything is going in the right direction and moving rightly towards the elections, which will be held fairly and transparently by the PFF NC,” Haroon added.

The NC chairman explained that the authority to increase the mandate of the Normalization Committee is only with the FIFA Council that has authority to decide the mandate of the committee on the report of the FIFA and AFC delegation. I am sure that every decision of the FIFA Council will be in the larger interest of Pakistan football.

Sharing his views, NC member Shahid Niaz Khokhar said that for the first time, the FIFA Connect program has been started in Pakistan.