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| July 14, 2006 | Friday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 17, 1427 |
FIFA stops payment for Goal Project
LAHORE, July 13: World soccer’s ruling body FIFA has withheld the last installment of US$ 48,000 to the company which constructed its Goal Project in Lahore city citing unsatisfactory quality of work
"A number of objections have been raised by FIFA over the quality and pace of work. It has asked the company to remove all objections by Aug 15 otherwise the PFF will complete the remaining work," PFF Director Administration Ahmed Yar Khan Lodi told Dawn on Thursday.
He said that in fact FIFA had set July 31 as last date to remove all the objections but one extension of 15 days could be given as last and final chance.
FIFA provided US$ 460,000 for the project, which was completed at a cost of US$ 765,000. The remaining amount was generated by the PFF.
Last month, FIFA's Goal Project official Manila Fernando came to inspect the building and later talking to reporters expressed his satisfaction over completion of the Goal Project and hoped it would help to promote soccer in the country.
"The rainy water has been entering in some of the rooms including the president (PFF) and there are around 500 objections which the contractor has to remove to get the final payment," the director said.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter is likely to visit Pakistan in November to inaugurate the Goal Project and he is also expected to announce another one for Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the director admitted that the PFF had also stopped the prize money of Rs.100,000 of the Wapda women football team for their unfair attitude during the final of the first national women championship against Punjab held at Islamabad last year.
He said the PFF had given the cheque of Rs 100,000 to Wapda as runners-up at the prize distribution ceremony. But later the PFF president Faisal Saleh Hayat announced one-year ban on two Wapda's players for their unfair attitude in the final, besides ordering to advise the PFF's bank not to clear the cheque if Wapda presented it.
Asked what was the fault of the other Wapda's players, if only two members did the unfair act, the director said that the grieved party (Wapda) could lodge an appeal to the PFF president for the stopped payment.
Punjab beat Wapda in that final 1-0.
Meanwhile, to assess the progress of the Pakistani coaches under the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) AID-27 Financial Assistance Scheme, a meeting will be held on July 24.
A spokesman of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said that coaches would provide the daily log book, monthly training schedule, quarterly progress report, annual plan (May 2006 to May 2007), stock register and activity report.
The AFC has been giving US$ 6,000 per month under the scheme. The coaches having maximum qualification of passing AFC 'C' License Course are eligible to be appointed. But the PFF is getting only U$D 2500 after appointing only 15 coaches instead of around 30, despite having a pool of about 180 'C' License coaches.
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