Pakistan Football Federation

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Pakistan Football Federation
AFC
Short namePFF
Founded5 December 1947; 76 years ago (1947-12-05)
HeadquartersFootball House, Opposite Punjab Stadium, Ferozepur Road, Lahore, Pakistan.
Membership7 (Provincial associations including Islamabad Football Association)
FIFA affiliation1948
AFC affiliation1954
SAFF affiliation1997
PresidentHaroon Malik[1]
Vice-President(Vacant)
General Secretary(Vacant)
Websitewww.pff.com.pk Edit this at Wikidata

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is the national governing body of association football in Pakistan.[2] It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to the Asian Football Confederation and South Asian Football Federation. The federation was founded in 1947, it also manages the futsal and beach soccer national teams.

History[edit]

Main article: Football in Pakistan

Upon Pakistan's independence in 1947, both East and West wings of the country inherited the football infrastructure of the British Raj.[3][4] The need for establishing a nationwide football association to govern the game properly was urgent, since India had inherited the erstwhile Calcutta-based Indian Football Association and the All-India Football Federation (AIFF).

Thus, on 5 December 1947 the Pakistan Football Federation was created. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's first Governor-General, became the patron-in-chief, and in 1948, the PFF became affiliated with FIFA.[5] It was also one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation in 1954.[6] PFF organized the first National Football Championship from 28 May to 5 June 1948 in Karachi, with Sindh Red beating Sindh Blue in the final.[7][8]

However, the game could not develop as smoothly as it should have.[9] Pakistan's participation in international competitions has not been regular. The standard achieved in the early 1950s could not be maintained because of lack of organization of the game.[9]

Competitions[edit]

Men's senior[edit]

Women's senior[edit]

Women's junior[edit]

National teams[edit]

Affiliated federations[edit]

There are currently 7 provincial associations affiliated with the PFF[citation needed]

  • Islamabad Football Association
  • Punjab Football Association
  • Sindh Football Association
  • Balochistan Football Association
  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Football Association
  • Azad Kashmir Football Association
  • Gilgit-Baltistan Football Association

Board of directors[edit]

The following are on the board of the directors at the PFF.[10]

Name Position
Pakistan Haroon Ahmed Malik[11] President (Chairman FIFA Normalization Committee)
(vacant) Vice-president
(vacant) Secretary General
(vacant) Technical Director
England Stephen Constantine Head Coach (Senior Men's)
Pakistan Adeel Rizki [12] Head Coach (Senior Women's)
(vacant) Director of Media
Pakistan Muhammad Yashal Mazhar Media And Communication Manager
Pakistan Muhammad Raza Fazli Director of Futsal
Pakistan Khurram Shahzad Referee Coordinator

Presidents[edit]

President Term Ref
Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Patron-in-Chief) 1948 [13]
Fazlurrehman 1948 – 1949
Major Khursid Anwar 1948 – 1949
Khawaja Shahabuddin 1950 – 1951
DR A.M.Malik 1952 – 1958
Muhammad Sharif Khan 1956 – 1958
Ata ur rehman 1958 – 1960
Justice A. Sattar 1960 – 2061
Air Marshal Asghar Khan 1962 – 1965
Khan Abdus Sabur 1965 – 1972
Abdul Sattar Gabol 1972 – 1977
Justice Fida Muhammad Khan 1978 – 1981
General Fazl-e-haq 1981 – 1988
Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao 1988 – 1989
Wasim Sajjad 1989
Mian Muhammad Azhar 1990 – 2003
Faisal Saleh Hayat 2003 – 2017
Ashfaq Hussain Shah 2018 – 2021 [14]

Secretary-Generals[edit]

Secretaries-General Term Ref
Hafiz Salman Butt 1991 – 1994 [9]
Haris Jamil Alam Khan 2019 - 2020
Manizeh Zainli 2020 – 2021 [15]

Criticism[edit]

Over the past several years, the Pakistan Football Federation has been accused of several corruption scandals and incompetence in running the day-to-day footballing activities in Pakistan. Local media outlets have described the current situation of the PFF as a "horror show".[16]

Faisal Saleh Hayat incompetence[edit]

In August 2003, the PFF became under new management, as the politician Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat took over, and turned around the fortunes of Pakistani football. He has been described as a "feudal lord of Pakistani football".[17] During his controversial tenure, Pakistan's FIFA ranking dropped from 168 in 2003 to 201 in 2017.[18] Despite his lackluster results, Hayat continues to hold on to his position as president. Hayat himself in also the middle of various corruption allegations involving PFF and a legal battle at Lahore High Court with a warring faction intent on seeing him removed from office.

The top division of the Pakistan Premier League remained suspended because the crisis created due to his actions, along with the men's senior team, who remained suspended from any international competition since March 2015, and FIFA rankings of the senior team had slumped.[19][20]

2015 crisis[edit]

Just before PPF elections in 2015, two groups were formed within the federation and there infighting in the federation due to which FIFA took notice and told the federation to solve the matters, being in contact with AFC.

In June 2015, 18 of the 26 members of the PFF voted in favor of Faisal Saleh Hayat's dismissal for incompetence and embezzlement of PFF funds.[21] Controversy began at the Punjab Football Association, when the Hayat-backed Sardar Naveed Haider Khan toppled incumbent Arshad Khan Lodhi. Several of Lodhi's voters were banned by Hayat's illegal disciplinary committee. With this, Zahir Ali Shah, a PFF vice-president, turned against Hayat and announced his intention to run for PFF presidency. Shortly after his announcement, allegations emerged from Shah claiming that Hayat had changed several clauses of the PFF constitution to suit himself in the presidential election. The PFF eventually split into two groups following an Extraordinary Congress meeting that suspended Hayat. With the election approaching, the two factions announced their own election venues. The Lahore High Court was forced to intervene in and ordered a stay on polling and appointed a temporary administrator until matters were resolved between the two factions.[22]

On 30 June, the elections were declared null by LHC, attended by AFC observer, Sanjeevan Balasinggam.[23] The PFF chairman Faisal Saleh Hayat said that the "Elections were approved by AFC, but the Asian governing body had no comment on the situation."[23] The row intensified when the Hayat faction went on and held election anyway, disobeying the Lahore High Court stay order.[24] FIFA then intervened and sent a fact-finding mission. They concluded that Hayat be given a mandate for two years, in which he would have to amend PFF statutes and form an independent disciplinary committee before holding elections again.[25][26]

The Lahore High Court appointed administrator Asad Munir was given authority to manage football activity in Pakistan, while the two factions sorted out differences. In a shocking move, the Hayat faction swiftly withdrew the Pakistan team from the 2015 SAFF Cup, only causing more resentment from football fans and senior PFF members who were intent on seeing Hayat removed from office.

In October 2016, the FIFA executive committee indicated all is not well with the Faisal Saleh Hayat faction of the PFF. A FIFA spokesperson said "given the current situation, FIFA has been withholding development funding to PFF."[27]

In February 2017, the Lahore High Court restored Faisal Saleh Hayat as president of the Pakistan Football Federation.[28] The FIFA Executive Committee decided that the current PFF leadership – led by Faisal Saleh Hayat – would be given two years (until September 2017) to revise the PFF statutes and organise elections accordingly.[29]

A normalization committee was made for the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) in 2019, whose task is to hold elections of the country's football governing body and bring it would bring an end to a four-year crisis that resulted in Pakistan suffering significantly in the game.[30][31][32]

2021 crisis[edit]

On 27 March 2021, the PFF's office was attacked and people inside held hostage by its former president, Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah, and his group, and the ongoing women's championship was cancelled.[33] Major clubs protested: Diya W.F.C. announced that "laws were laid down by FIFA, PFF NC and the AFC", Mohsin Gillani W.F.C. announced it pulled out and Karachi United condemned actions taken against the NC, stating to be "fully and respectfully supportive of following due process as per FIFA directives."[34]

Suspensions[edit]

FIFA has given warnings and suspension for PFA on several occasions. FIFA had issued a warning to suspend Pakistan if the third party interference (i.e. involvement of Lahore High Court) is not ended as soon as possible.[35]

2017 FIFA suspension[edit]

In July 2017, FIFA threatened to suspend the PFF's membership if it kept refusing to hand football affairs to its president-elect Faisal Saleh Hayat.[36][37] Former coach Nasir Ismail asked FIFA to hold fresh elections for the PFF's presidency.[38]


On 10 October 2017, FIFA suspended PFF with immediate effect. FIFA stated on its website:[39]

"FIFA has decided to suspend the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect in accordance with the decision of the Bureau of the FIFA Council dated 10 October 2017 on account of undue third-party interference."[40]

On 13 March 2018 FIFA lifted the suspension, and Pakistan had been given the opportunity to participate in the 2018 Asian Games and the 2018 SAFF competitions.[41]

2021 FIFA suspension[edit]

On 7 April 2021, FIFA suspended the federation with immediate effect due to third-party interference, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA statutes.[42][43] The suspension was lifted on 29 June 2022.[44]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "FIFA name Haroon Malik as new PFF NC Chairman". www.geosuper.tv.
  2. ^ Federation, Pakistan Football. "Pakistan Football Federation". Pakfootball.org. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  3. ^ Ahsan, Ali (23 December 2010). "A history of football in Pakistan – Part I". www.dawn.com. Karachi, Pakistan: Dawn. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  4. ^ Ahsan, Ali (23 December 2010). "A history of football in Pakistan – Part II". www.dawn.com. Karachi, Pakistan: Dawn. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Govt Sports Portal". Sports.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Member Association (Pakistan Football Federation)". saffederation.org. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Pakistan 1948". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  8. ^ Ahsan, Ali (23 December 2010). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part I". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "A history of football in Pakistan – Part III". Dawn.com. 23 December 2010. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Pakistan Football Federation". FIFA.
  11. ^ "FIFA". Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  12. ^ "PFF names women's squad for Saudi Arabia tour, retains Rizki as coach despite criticism". 16 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Pakistan Football Federation".
  14. ^ "Ashfaq Hussain Shah elected new Pakistan Football Federation president". The Express Tribune. 12 December 2018.
  15. ^ "PFF's first female secretary-general steps down as her contract expires". The News International. 1 January 2021.
  16. ^ Wasim, Umaid (22 December 2015). "Pakistan football in 2015: A horror show on and off the pitch". Dawn.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Faisal Saleh Hayat: The feudal lord of Pakistani football". The Nation. 8 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  18. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Pakistan - Men's". Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  19. ^ Din, Tusdiq. "Three years without any football - can Pakistan recover?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  20. ^ Raheel, Natasha (15 February 2017). "Still no end to PFF crisis". Tribune.com.pk. Tribune. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  21. ^ PFF removes Faisal Saleh Hayat as president over embezzlement: report, Tribune.com.tk, 17 June 2015
  22. ^ "Lahore High Court stays PFF elections [The News]". FootballPakistan.com. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  23. ^ a b Wasim, Umaid (24 July 2015). "FIFA looking at 'possible mission' to solve PFF crisis". Dawn.com. DAWN. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  24. ^ Wasim, Umaid (1 July 2015). "Despite LHC stay order, Hayat's PFF holds elections". Dawn.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  25. ^ Wasim, Umaid (20 August 2015). "Hayat's PFF seeks AFC influence for favourable FIFA decision". Dawn.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  26. ^ Yaqoob, Umaid Wasim | Mohammad (1 August 2015). "FIFA-AFC mission set to arrive today amid PFF crisis". Dawn.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Wasim, Umaid (2 October 2016). "FIFA acknowledges all not well in Pakistan as funding stopped". Dawn.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  28. ^ "Faisal restored as PFF president, Asad asked to vacate headquarters". Thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  29. ^ "FIFA threatens to suspend Pakistan Football Federation". Geo.tv. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  30. ^ Tribune.com.pk (29 June 2019). "FIFA appoints normalisation committee for the Pakistan Football Federation". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  31. ^ Tribune.com.pk (29 June 2019). "Fifa's normalisation committee good for Pakistan football: PFF president". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  32. ^ "Who We Are - News - Normalisation committee appointed for the Pakistan Football Federation -". Fifa.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  33. ^ Lakhani, Faizan (28 March 2021). "National Women Football Championship called off after PFF office takeover". Geo Super. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  34. ^ Wasim, Umaid (31 March 2021). "Pakistan set for suspension as FIFA issues ultimatum to Ashfaq group". Dawn. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  35. ^ Raheel, Natasha (11 October 2017). "FIFA suspends Pakistan Football Federation". Tribune.com.pk. Tribune. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  36. ^ FIFA threatens to suspend Pakistan Football Federation Archived 15 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Geo.tv, 12 July 2017
  37. ^ PFF headquarters should be handed over to Faisal Group: Kaleemullah Archived 14 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Thenews.co.uk, 14 July 2017
  38. ^ Nasir asks FIFA to ban Pakistan Archived 14 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Thenews.com, 1 July 2017
  39. ^ "FIFA suspends the Pakistan Football Federation". FIFA. 11 October 2017. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  40. ^ "FIFA suspends the Pakistan Football Federation". FIFA. 11 October 2017. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  41. ^ "FIFA lifts suspension on Pakistan Football Federation". The Express Tribune. 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  42. ^ "FIFA suspends Pakistan Football Federation due to third-party interference". www.aninews.in. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  43. ^ "FIFA suspends Pakistan Football Federation". Asian Football Confederation. 7 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  44. ^ "FIFA lifts suspension of Pakistan Football Federation". FIFA. 29 June 2022. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.

External links[edit]

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