Suspension means that Pakistan football teams can’t participate in international competitions until the problem is resolved.
The Chairman of the Pakistan Football Federation’s (PFF) Normalisation Committee, Haroon Malik, spoke during the Extraordinary Congress meeting in January. The committee praised the PFF for its efforts in promoting football at the Olympic level. Malik updated the National Assembly’s standing committee on the federation’s developments, stating, “FIFA wants to make some amendments to the PFF Constitution.”
The committee lauds PFF’s efforts to promote football at the Olympic level.
PFF chief conveys development while briefing NA’s standing committee.
“FIFA wants to make some amendments to PFF Constitution”: Malik.
KARACHI: The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has once again suspended the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) following the PFF congress’s refusal to implement the recommended modifications to its constitution.
According to an announcement by FIFA, the PFF has been suspended immediately due to its failure to adopt a revision of the PFF Constitution that would ensure genuinely fair and democratic elections and thereby fulfill its obligations as mandated by FIFA as part of the ongoing normalization process of PFF.
“The suspension will remain in effect until the PFF Congress endorses the version of the PFF Constitution proposed by FIFA and the AFC,” according to the announcement.
FIFA and AFC recommended that the PFF amend its existing constitution. The proposed amendments were to include clauses related to the electoral process. However, the PFF’s elected congress rejected those amendments.
This is not the first time the PFF has faced suspension. In April 2021, FIFA suspended the federation due to undue third-party interference, violating FIFA’s statutes. That suspension was lifted in June 2022 after FIFA received confirmation that the PFF’s Normalisation Committee had regained complete control of the federation’s premises and was managing its finances.
Despite these efforts, challenges have persisted. In recent months, FIFA has pushed for constitutional amendments within the PFF to facilitate fair elections and proper governance. However, the PFF Congress has been reluctant to adopt these changes, leading to the suspension.
The suspension means that Pakistan’s teams are barred from participating in international competitions until the issue is resolved, and the PFF will not receive any assistance from the FIFA.
Earlier today, Chairman of the PFF Normalisation Committee Haroon Malik said that due to the deadlock between FIFA and PFF’s newly elected congress, the international football association may “conditionally” suspend Pakistan.
The chairman conveyed the development while briefing the National Assembly’s standing committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC). He said that this will cause Pakistan to at least lose its international participation and stoppage of FIFA’s financial support to the PFF.
“FIFA wants to amend the PFF Constitution to align it with international standards. In the recent efforts, most of the newly-elected PFF Congress members have not agreed to FIFA’s proposals,” Malik said.
He also briefed the standing committee on the election process within the PFF from the district level onwards and informed them that all elections have been completed and that the elected Congress members will oversee the next phase.
Malik also highlighted that, for the first time, the PFF participated in the 2023 Olympic qualifiers and advanced to the second round. The committee appreciated the efforts of the national federation in promoting football at the Olympic level.
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