THIS is with reference to the report ‘FIFA ban imminent as Ashfaq group refuses to vacate PFF headquarters’ (April 1) and various other news reports carried by the national media in the last few days. It is really heartbreaking to see whatever is going on in relevant circles.

All the talk about the downfall of football in Pakistan is a matter of great shame. Instead of promoting football, two groups, one led and patronised by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) and the other by FIFA, the international body regulating and funding the game, are at daggers drawn. How can one expect football to flourish under such circumstances?

I urge the relevant federal ministry to intervene and settle this dispute so the elected body takes responsibility to promote the game which has been suffering from internal bickering and dirty politics for long in the country.

Football, which is believed to be the most played and popular sport all over the world, must be promoted as there is no dearth of talent in Pakistan. For this purpose, there must be competitions for hunting the untapped talent on the pattern of cricket where players who excel in Quaid-i-Azam Trophy attract the attention of the national selectors and make it to the national team.

Lt-Cdr (retd) Riaz Akbar
Wah Cantt

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WITH a prime minister having an illustrious background of global sports, it is a pity that no one cares about the future of football — the sport, which, it seems, is about to be banned by sport’s international governing body, FIFA, owing to bickering between two groups fighting for taking over control of the game in the country.

There was reportedly an attack on Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) office where a mob forced the chairman of the ‘Normalisation Committee’ of the PFF appointed by FIFA to hand over the charge. Following this ugly incident, a ban on PFF by FIFA looms large.

The saddest part of the episode is that there is no action by the government and it has remained a silent spectator. The government must look into this issue as the future of footballers in Pakistan depends on having a functional and active national football federation running the game.

Ahsan Ahmed Pitafi
Mirpur Mathelo

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2021