June 01, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1428

KARACHI, May 31: While the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) faces threats of legal action from a former secretary if it goes to polls, FIFA chief Sepp Blatter has congratulated Faisal Saleh Hayat on his ‘re-election.’

The PFF says that its affiliated units were asked on May 4 to send nominations for the president’s election by May 12, but it never received any reply which means Faisal has been ‘re-elected unopposed’ for a second term.

The question is how the PFF will hold the July 14 elections as two groups are engaged in a legal battle following the Punjab Football Association (PFA) elections. The Lahore High Court has granted a stay order after Tariq Cheema challenged the re-election of Arshad Lodhi as PFA chairman. Arshad, also ex-secretary of PFF, says he would take PFF into court if it holds elections before court verdict.

Felicitations to Faisal from Blatter are surprising in the ambiguous situation as the PFA would not be able to nominate its representatives for the PFF elections, especially since elections are yet to be held in some districts of the province.

Pakistan football faces turmoil and chaos, but Blatter has expressed satisfaction on how the affairs are being run in the country.

“The football community in Pakistan is behind Faisal. Soccer followers in Pakistan are happy to see activity because of Faisal who has promoted the game in Pakistan. It is because of his efforts that Asian powerhouses are regularly visiting Pakistan. Such matches against top-ranked Asian nations were not expected before," a PFF spokesman quoted Blatter as saying.

Although activity has increased during the last three or fours years, especially at youth level, Pakistan are still minnows and always lose against giants. Faisal has also been in limelight during his tenure for what many believe were favours he gave to near and dear ones.

For instance, Nayyar Hasnain, a police official and a relative of Faisal, was sent to Singapore as team manager for pre-qualifying matches in January despite having no technical background in the sport.

While the PFF faces lack of sponsorship, sending favourites as freeloaders by the federation has raised eyebrows in the football circle. But for Blatter, soccer activity in Pakistan is significant, although the country is yet to make any impression in the sport.

“FIFA is looking forward to contributing to the development of football in Pakistan. The football activity during last four years under leadership of Faisal Saleh Hayat in Pakistan is significant. I am following the activities of soccer in Pakistan closely as it is one of the foremost nations of South Asian region.

“Pakistan produced several stars in different games and the population of over 169 million suggests that there should be many footballers in the country who should be brought into limelight and I am sure Faisal will do the needful,” a PFF spokesman quoted Blatter as saying.

Faisal is in Zurich to attend the 57th FIFA Congress.

“What's lacking is a sense of professionalism, while some obstructions make it difficult for players from the region to adapt abroad,” Blatter admitted, saying European and Latin American coaches could help the game improve further in Pakistan.

In January, Faisal had vowed to hire European and Latin American coaches, but the promise is yet to be fulfilled.

According to the PFF, Blatter, after cancelling his visit to Pakistan several times, had assured he would visit the country late this year, saying he could not come before because of what he said ‘unavoidable circumstances.’