KARACHI, May 2: Sindh Football Association’s (SFA) new president Syed Khadim Ali Shah has said that he will do his best to raise the standard of football in the province.

“I will soon hold a meeting with my team of vice presidents and district heads to discuss football activity within the region while planning a new calendar of events for the coming season,” said Shah while speaking to Dawn on Monday. Lyari that is seen as the hub of football in the country since the game started gaining popularity here has been suffering due to a weak leadership in Sindh for several years now. The Pakistan football team which at one time comprised just Lyari players hardly has even one player from the area now.

Asked if Lyari’s budding talent can expect anything positive from the change, Shah said that not just Lyari but the other districts of Sindh also had plenty to look forward to.

“It is good that the Pakistan Football Federation [PFF] has taken notice of the immense enthusiasm for the game among Lyari footballers but although Lyari will have my focus, I will be looking to bring up the level of football in the whole of Sindh. “Keeping this in mind, we will be organising matches among the districts as my main aim is to bring up the level of the game in order to increase our boys’ chances to be considered for the national team,” he said.

Asked if his presence could also influence some progress in the FIFA Goal Project-II, something that his predecessor had also miserably failed in doing, he said that he will try his best to convince FIFA to move ahead with the project.

Syed Khadim Ali Shah, a former PFF vice-president who also happens to be an elected senior vice-president for SAARC football, was elected unopposed as the new SFA president last week after no other nomination papers for the seat could be received until the given deadline of April 24.

Vice presidents Mohammad Iqbal (Mirpurkhas), Azam Khan (Hyderabad), Mir Yaqoob Ali Shah (Sukkur) and Fateh Mohammad Baloch (Karachi-Malir) were also elected unopposed giving him a strong panel to do as he wishes for the betterment of the game in Sindh.