August 28, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-us-Sani 29, 142

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LAHORE, Aug 27: Doubts about well-being of football in the country grew stronger on Wednesday when the schedule for Council meeting was changed because of president-elect of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Faisal Saleh Hayat’s pressing engagements.

Faisal, the interior minister, has been elected unopposed the president of the PFF after no other group filed the nomination papers on Aug 25.

The general council is to give formal approval to new unopposed elected panel headed by Faisal on Thursday.

The general council will be chaired by the senior vice-president Saeed Ahmad Khan in the absence of president Mian Mohammad Azhar who was reluctant to attend chair after deciding against contesting for the fourth term. In the past, the political activities of long-serving Mian Azhar and his lack of coordination with secretary Agha Liaquat Ali damaged the sport and the affairs.

FIFA sanctioned an annual grant of $250,000 for PFF besides approving a Football House. AFC  provided two  foreign  coaches and funds to run the PFF secretariat in Lahore.

PFF failed to take full advantage of the coaches because it could not chalk out comprehensive planning to utilise  their services. Azhar also  failed to get a piece of land for the Football House.

To make things worse, PFF failed to hold its annual executive and general council meetings in 2002.

Furthermore, the secretary-elect Arshad Khan Lodhi is also the Punjab agriculture minister. The game is bound to suffer if Faisal and Arshad follow suit and fail to give time to football.