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LAHORE: Dordoi FC Kyrgyzstan has extended their contract with Pakistan’s star football striker Kaleemullah for two more years after he was initially engaged by the club for a period of five months.
This lucrative deal will earn Kaleemullah Rs10 million in the contract duration lasting two years which makes him the most expensive player of the club.
Kaleemullah who represents KRL — the champion club of Pakistan football — was the top scorer in the last Pakistan Premier Football League with 32 goals. He has also scored 16 goals in 17 matches for Dordoi FC including some in very crucial matches.
In this regard Kaleemullah and talented fellow winger Mohammad Adil, who has also been signed by Dordoi for a year after his short stint, addressed a media briefing on Friday at the FIFA Football House PFF Secretariat in Lahore.
Asked about their experience with the foreign club, the two football stars said that it had been excellent as they had received vital exposure during their stint with the Dordoi club. “We had a chance to play with the players coming from Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and many other countries which has given us a lot of confidence and we will share their experience with other players of Pakistan national football Team,” said the 22-year-old striker Kaleemullah.
PFF chief says country’s football gaining new ground
Both the players also sounded confident about Pakistan football team faring well at the upcoming Asian Games in Korea.
Meanwhile, PFF president Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat has congratulated Kaleemullah, the KRL team management and officials on the striker’s progress with the reputed club.
“The good strategies of the PFF have started producing results and Kaleemullah has opened the doors of international football for talented young Pakistani players,” said Faisal in a message.
Congratulating Kaleemullah on the extension of his contract with Dordoi FC, he said: “This milestone contract will be a shining example and many will follow it. This is the beginning of a new, bright era of football in Pakistan.
“We also expect such international engagement of Mohammad Adil, another brilliant player of Pakistan team who has also been signed by Dordoi FC for a year.”
PFF secretary retired Lt Col Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi expressed delight at the development and said that this moment had been awaited since long.
“The contract of Kaleemullah has filled the heart of every football lover in Pakistan with pride,” said Lodhi. “It will certainly start changing the approach of football playing youth in Pakistan.”
He further said that the eyes of the drawing room critiques of PFF should open now and they should realise how hard the federation is working to promote the game and to enhance the players’ capacities to make them a saleable product in the international football market.
Lodhi further said: “We are also focused to provide more and more chances to our football players to play professionally at the international level.”
Later, talking with the media, Kaleemullah praised the PFF for providing the young players a stage from where they could reach the international football market. He also endorsed the progressive policies of PFF leadership due to which the football is on rise in Pakistan.
Endorsing his fellow player’s views, Adil also referred to the continuous efforts of PFF which he said enabled them to play the game at professional level. He predicted that in the coming days many football players from Pakistan will join professional leagues in different countries.
Published in Dawn, July 19th , 2014
