KARACHI: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) director competitions and development Wing Commander Pervaiz Saeed Mir resigned from his post on Monday citing lack of work due to the ongoing crisis that the country’s football governing body finds itself in.

The PFF has been in turmoil over the last few months due to several controversies in the run up to its elections held by its president Faisal Saleh Hayat on June 30 despite the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordering a stay on the polls.

Hayat has since been issued a contempt notice while a splinter group has taken over the PFF headquarters in Lahore but the LHC has ordered an administrator to take charge of the PFF affairs and hold fresh elections within four months.

Pakistan has since withdrawn its participation from next month’s SAFF U-16 Championship whilst the inaugural Women’s League has been postponed. It is very likely that the Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) will also not be held this season.

“There was going to be no work which is why I’ve resigned,” Mir told Dawn on Monday. “I’m a sports professional and I cannot stay without having some work to do. There is no development, there are no competitions so there was no point in continuing with the PFF.

“I’ve worked in sports all my life so I’ll continue doing that,” he added on his future prospects and did not rule out working with the PFF body that takes charge after the elections. “That remains to be seen if the new body wants to utilise my services.”

SHAHZAD SET FOR SAO PAULO STINT

Meanwhile, PFF’s technical director Shahzad Anwar will do an attachment with Brazilian giants Sao Paulo FC in order to complete the last stage of his Pro-license course.

“I’ll be going to Brazil in the next few weeks and I hope that my stint in Sao Paulo will give me more expertise,” Shahzad, who will officially take over as technical director in October after having completed his licenses, told Dawn on Monday.

“Only a little paperwork remains and as soon as that is done, I’ll be flying out to Brazil.”

With the PFF in dire straits, though, Shahzad knows that by the time he’s done with his Pro-license he might not even be its technical director.

“That totally depends on what the next setup will decide,” he said. “Whatever has happened has done nothing positive for football. It’s us, the coaches and players, who are suffering.

“It’s a setback for Pakistan football that the U-16 team couldn’t participate in the SAFF event. This pushes us back for four more years.”

The administrator in-charge of the PFF for the next four months is likely to be Justice Asad Munir, a source told Dawn on Monday. The administrator will also look into the PFF accounts over the last 12 years in which Hayat was in control.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play