KARACHI, Nov 24: Lyari Development Authority (LDA) will finally be handing over possession of the land selected for FIFA Goal Project II to Sindh Football Association (SFA) on Tuesday.

This was announced by former vice-president of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Ali Nawaz Baluch on Monday.

Baluch, who has been advising SFA throughout the negotiations for the land, said: “The papers of plot 13 A-1, Scheme 42, Hawkesbay will be handed over to Sindh minister for Katchi Abadis and SFA’s Chief Patron Rafiq Engineer by LDA’s Director Agha Masood and Chief Engineer Nund Lal at the minister’s office in the Sindh Secretariat at 1.00pm on Tuesday.”

The news was hailed across Lyari where generations of talented footballers had been waiting for the project to materialise for the last several years.

The PFF had chosen this particular piece of land at Hawkesbay after giving up on their initial choice, the amenity plot at Trans Lyari Park or Gutter Baghicha when it was disclosed that the district authorities had already planned a housing scheme for their officers there.

But then, after announcing that they had found a new place for the Goal Project back in July, the SFA ran into new difficulties such as City District Government Karachi’s (CDGK)’s lax attitude and inefficiency in handing over the lease papers.

Meanwhile, the PFF threatened to move the project from Karachi to Quetta if FIFA’s new deadline could not be met. After several hiccups, the summary for the allotment was approved by Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Oct 21, almost a month and a half after the expiry of the second deadline of Aug 31 (the first deadline was July 31) set by the PFF.

Still, the SFA officials are grateful to their parent body for being so lenient with them. Although FIFA Goal Project I has already been completed in Lahore, the PFF has yet to own a football stadium in Pakistan.

Besides having a proper football stadium, FIFA Goal Project II will have the FIFA House, bungalows for officials along with a spacious hostel for the visiting teams and several sporting facilities at the stadium such as an indoor gymnasium with sophisticated training equipment and a swimming pool.

The architectural plans for the project have already been approved by FIFA along with a grant of USD 400,000.