KARACHI, Dec 26: Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Goal Project II has been put off once again after Sindh Football Association (SFA) failed to transfer the lease land reserved for the project to the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF).
A meeting between the PFF President Syed Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat, SFA’s Zonal Football Association officials and FIFA’s Assistant Development Officer Mohsen Gilani at a local Karachi hotel on Friday afternoon resulted in heated debate over the deed of lease.
The PFF chief said that the SFA need to show him the legal documentation stating that the 10-acre land at Hawkesbay’s Scheme 42 was leased to the PFF.
“You are to sub-lease it to the PFF as the federation, not the SFA, happens to be FIFA’s member association,” Faisal explained. “I had specifically explained this to SFA’s Patron-in-Chief Rafique Engineer at our Congress meeting last Saturday. All your efforts in acquiring land for the project will go to waste otherwise,” he reasoned.
“Personally, I don’t understand what the problem here is? We have missed three deadlines already. First we couldn’t get suitable land for the project and now when there is the land, it is taking ages to have it transferred to the federation. I really think we should be moving this project to Quetta now before suffering further embarrassment in front of FIFA,” Faisal said looking at Mohsen Gilani before walking off.
The SFA officials had only just arrived then to find that Faisal, after waiting for them for over one hour, was finally leaving due to miscommunication between the newly-appointed SFA secretary Qamar Yar and the Zonal Football officials.
Irked by the gesture, Chairman Zonal Football Assoctaion, District South Nasir Karim Baloch, who had arrived with member SFA General Council Ali Nawaz Baluch and Rahim Bakhsh along with the deed of lease turned to the members of the media gathered there. “There will be no Goal Project in Karachi, mark my words,” he announced.
“This is PFF’s conspiracy against the people of Lyari,” he continued. “Even our president,” he said pointing at SFA President Ghulam Abbas is their dumb tout.”
Calming down a little after a few minutes he said: “We will fulfill this requirement too but they will find something else wrong, I tell you.
“Meanwhile, the children of Lyari who have football in their blood will get themselves into all kinds of mess as they are doing already. We really need to involve them in football again. The Goal Project brought us hope but it is not going to happen,” said the disheartened Nasir Karim.
Meanwhile, Mohsen Gilani tried clearing his misconception. “Why do you think FIFA has been extending the deadline for Karachi again and again? It is only because we acknowledge Lyari’s past contribution to football in the region. Even the German coach Holger Oberman who visited here a couple of months back commented about finding talent in just about every boy in Lyari,” he said.
“We are keen to see this project in Karachi of all the other places that FIFA has Goal Projects but you have to understand that the papers need to have a clause saying that SFA can sub-lease it to the PFF. Trust me, I’m speaking as a lawyer here,” he said.
When asked by Nasir Karim why their deed papers weren’t good enough when they had copied all of the clauses from the NWFP and Lahore Goal Project deed papers, Mohsen said: “There the lands were acquired by the PFF itself but here it is the SFA who have been leased the land. It has to be transferred to the PFF before FIFA gives its approval for the $5,00,000 project.”
