July 30, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 19,1423

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KARACHI, July 29: FIFA, the world soccer ruling body, Monday threatened it would be keeping a close watch on utilisation of its grants by Pakistan or they would be revoked.

“There are several things which should have been done by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF). But FIFA is well aware of the development and will be more vigilant in future.

“However, to stop the grants is not the solution. What we must emphasize is to ask the federations to spend it where it should be,” the FIFA development officer, V. Manilal Fernando told Dawn in an interview.

The official admitted Pakistan football lags behind despite the FIFA’s one-million-dollar Financial Assistance Programme (FAP), chiefly because of non-professional PFF administration.

“FIFA has taken notice of the reports about funds not being utilized properly by the PFF. But that is simply because of non- professional people running football who don’t have time for the game.

“Once the professional people take over the charge, things will start changing,” Fernando, also the vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), said.

Fernando said after furore by the local media regarding the sorry state of soccer affairs, the FIFA, to re-check whether its money was not being misused, had audited the PFF accounts through KPMG, FIFA’s official auditors.

Asked why FIFA does not audit FAP beneficiaries accounts directly rather than being satisfied on reports already audited by national federations he termed the procedure `impossible’.

“FIFA has 204 member countries. It cannot audit the accounts of every association, therefore, it is practically not possible,” he said.

He clarified as an independent state, Pakistan’s ministry of sports or the Pakistan Sports Board, could check PFF’s accounts. “It is not against FIFA’s rules. If the PSB wants to see the (PFF) accounts, it is entitled to do that.”

Fernando said that FIFA was not aware that PFF had been involved in spending some of the FIFA grant on sending “officials” on joytrips to offshore tours.

“I am unaware that PFF is sending officials in such large numbers. But if this is the case, FIFA will ask the PFF to clarify and will be reprimanded. In my country, Sri Lanka, we usually have a coach and manager. Besides we have team officials on permanent basis.

“Officials’ appointment on tournament-by-tournament basis is old practice. The PFF will also be asked to stop that practice,” Fernando, also the management committee, chairman, of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, said.

The PFF, only last year dispatched at least eight officials along with the squad that played World Cup qualifiers in Beirut and Bangkok.

Fernando acknowledged the pitch prepared for April’s Under-20 Asian championship qualifiers by the PFF in Karachi was not suitable for playing football and the chorus of criticism by the participants was not baseless and without substance.

“I agree the surface was not suitable and up to international standards. How football pitch could be prepared within two weeks. But again it was lack of professionalism that did the damage,” the said.

As a damage control step and to put the sport on professional lines, the PFF has been told not only to build its headquarters in Lahore, but also to hire at least four full-time paid officials to run day-to-day affairs in the provincial capital.

To start with, the four heads will be for finance, administration, technical and sustained youth development, and competition, to give the professional activity a kick start.

“The four heads of the departments will take instructions both from PFF and the FIFA and subsequently report to both the bodies.

“There will be a full-time paid executive secretary at the Football House that is to be equipped with state-of-the-art technology, hostel, training field and a football pitch,” Sri Lanka-based official, who was here on one-day trip to formally launch the Goal Project, said.

A five-acre land in Lahore has been acquired for the purpose and project is expected to be completed by either the end of September or early October next year.

“A semi-professional league will also be initiated for which I will be helping out PFF. I will visit Pakistan along with my marketing team to seek sponsors for the league,” the official said.

Fernando disclosed FIFA had also enhanced the Goal Project grant from $400,000 to 650,000 as per requirement of the project. Of the total package, $400,000 comes from Goal, $150,000 from the FAP, and $100,000 from next year’s FAP instalment.