KARACHI, Aug 27: One reason why the national football league has so far failed to kick-off is because Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) never bothered to respond to offers from a Karachi-based club.
What the PFF had been offered by Karachi United Football Club would have been accepted with open arms by any other feredation, but the offers by the club were given a cold response.
It was in August 1998 that United first came forward with their offer of providing sponsors to the PFF for organizing the league.
Taha Alizai, the manager of the club, wrote to PFF president Mian Mohammad Azhar no fewer than eight times offering him financial help by seeking sponsors for the game, especially for the national league.
“We are in a position to help PFF financially and help in restructuring of the body. Financially, we can use our contacts in the private sector to help obtain sponsorship that would help PFF implementing its plans,” United wrote in the letter.
United, a group of football loving highly qualified professionals in different fields, were not only willing to find financiers, but also wanted to extend help in the administration and that too free of charge.
“If you were to place day-to-day administrative duties of the PFF in the hands of my colleagues, you would see swift and great improvement in the running of football affairs. For this purpose, we do not ask for any salary or other finances, but your support,” United had suggested.
K-league, which was a success, also became a victim of PFF officials’ apathy towards the sport despite an offer by United to obtain sponsors for it.
“We had on a number of occasions offered to sponsor the national league but did not receive any response from the PFF. We wanted to run and seek financiers for the K-league on the condition that our club would be allowed to compete in the first division (second tier).
“The second condition was that we would have a blanket authority to deal with finances and the running of the league. Initially, the officials agreed but later we were greeted with lukewarm reposnse,” Taha told Dawn on Wednesday.
United, who recently hosted 10-team Rs80,000 league on their own in the city, were not the first and only ones to approach PFF with new ideas and sponsorship deals as the state-owned PTCL had also offered to finance the national league with Rs.1.4million package for a season.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has given PFF several deadlines to launch the league as it is a pre-requisite for receiving grants from the continental body.
“We also wrote several times to FIFA and AFC about dismal soccer scenario in Pakistan but did not get a positive reponse. I think FIFA is like World Bank and IMF who take action against governments for not following their suggestions, but only pay lip service to corruption and other evils,” Taha opined.