THE nasty tug-of-war for administrative control of football affairs in Pakistan has brought the sport to the brink of an indefinite suspension by FIFA. An unprecedented chain of events has seen officials of the FIFA-backed PFF Normalisation Committee forced to vacate the PFF headquarters by the rival Ashfaq Group following a vicious attack. FIFA on Tuesday issued a stern warning to the Ashfaq Group that failure to hand the PFF headquarters back to the PFF NC could see Pakistan suspended for the second time in four years. However, the Ashfaq Group has refused to budge and, instead, demanded negotiations with FIFA. A FIFA suspension would see Pakistan miss out on international events, while foreign teams’ participation in football competitions of the South Asian Games, scheduled to be hosted by the country in 2023, are likely to be in peril. The recent events add to the long-running crisis that has afflicted football in the country for the better part of the last decade. From the abuse of power and financial and administrative irregularities to court battles, allegations and counter allegations, Pakistan football has seen it all, barring, of course on-field action that has pushed the national football team to an ignominious 200th spot in international rankings.

It is lamentable, too, how the government has been a mere bystander in the saga. In spite of the capture of the PFF headquarters, all that the government has done is to ask FIFA to open a fresh dialogue with football officials in Pakistan, claiming that suspension isn’t the way forward. Regrettably, the history of sports in Pakistan is replete with incidents of political appointments of officials whose arbitrary dealings have greatly damaged the development of a variety of sports in the country. The other big menace are the parallel bodies formed by vested interests who eventually leave things in a mess. Such practices must be done away with to ensure a better future for our sportsmen and sportswomen.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2021