Football in Pakistan: From chaos in 2021 to hope for 2022

This is an unkind era for Pakistani football. Political turmoil for controlling the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has made the sport in a downward spiral since 2015’s disputed elections. Forced takeovers, FIFA bans, disruptions in national events and almost zero international football have been constant. 2021 saw all that repeat at once.

Troubled beginning

The year began in a somewhat hopeful, but tensed, manner. The FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee (NC), in charge of the PFF since September 2019 to prepare fresh elections and handle regular football activities, underwent a major restructuring.

The previous membership faced chaotic infighting and disruptions from outsiders throughout pandemic-ridden 2020 which led to the change of hierarchy where a new NC under chairman Haroon Malik took charge in January.

This new NC announced a busy 2021 football calendar. Domestically, it was, to begin with, the National Women’s Championship, with men’s having another B-Division PFF League and top division Pakistan Premier League in the latter half of 2021. The national men’s and women’s teams were to also reactivate after a long slumber with extensive training camps planned for events like the SAFF Championship and AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers later in the year.

But things at the PFF elections front remained terse. Litigations in local courts from competing factions had effectively hamstrung any electoral progress throughout 2020. Yet, the same factions repeatedly accused NC of not doing anything for elections. It remained the same in the early part of the year as the NC continued to face legal obstacles from beginning district-level club scrutiny in at least two provinces.

PFF elections, per the 2015 electoral rules, start with district-level scrutiny of football clubs nationwide for voting rights to participate in District FA elections. Those DFAs constitute their respective Provincial FA congress and elect their officeholders. All PFAs plus Islamabad then join other constitutive bodies (departments, referees association, women’s committee etc.) to form the PFF Congress to elect the new president. The entire process, per the rules, is mandated to take approximately nine months.

The most prominent faction who was fighting for PFF’s control was led by Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah. They had emerged from the Supreme Court-ordered PFF elections in December 2018, when Shah became PFF President, but FIFA refused to recognize them because of ‘third party interference’.

It is believed that this group includes many having close ties to the sitting government, with Malik Amir Dogar – a PTI MNA, the legislative chief whip, and SAPM to Prime Minister Imran Khan – most prominent. This faction has been a disruptive force; as angry critics in the press and trigger-happy litigants in courts.

In mid-March, a report from Dawn’s story indicated that FIFA was considering giving Haroon Malik’s NC more powers to rectify systemic governance issues plaguing Pakistani football before any elections. This panicked Shah’s group, fearing changes in outdated PFF rules could effectively hamper their prospects of taking the power again.

Forced takeover

The group forcibly captured the PFF House in Lahore, kicking out the whole of NC. They claimed to have lost patience over NC’s delays and were now reinstating themselves as the PFF elected in 2018. All this despite effectively forfeiting that mandate, already unrecognized by FIFA, when they surrendered PFF to NC in September 2019.

Shah group’s capture of PFF raised FIFA alarm, who threatened to ban Pakistan if the building control was not handed back to NC unconditionally. The faction refused and it led to FIFA’s ban imposed which was since April.

The ongoing National Women’s Championship was cancelled after many teams withdrew, protesting the forced takeover. Unmoved by the international embarrassment on Pakistan, the Shah group arranged a press conference sharing secret audios of intrigues inside the old NC, even though most of the people singled out had left it by end of 2020.

Efforts for legitimacy

To establish their legitimacy amongst the football lovers in the country, the group organized National U23 Championship and the Pakistan Premier League. Many footballers and teams, already unable to play regular national-level events, participated out of necessity.

Shah group also revealed plans for a franchise football league after signing a deal with a private company, Global Soccer Ventures, claiming that will ‘revolutionise Pakistani football’.

Those claims are nothing new and it was another evidence that this group, who had been in power previously as well one way or another, had no vision to take this sport forward and all they care about is hype and publicity.

But here is a twisted detail. Before taking up the NC, Canada-based Haroon Malik had been aiming to launch his franchise league in Pakistan and many accused him of planning to do the same while being the head of the NC.

The whole efficacy of whether football in Pakistan needs a franchise league is a topic for another day.

Intervention from the federal government

Anyhow, the NC managed to get another FIFA extension and legally blocked the Shah group from accessing PFF accounts having FIFA money. They also approached the federal government to get the PFF House back.

The Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), under whom Pakistan Sports Board falls, stepped in to negotiate. In September, the Prime Minister directed IPC Minister Dr Fehmida Mirza for returning the PFF House to NC for lifting the FIFA ban on Pakistan.

But Shah group continued to refuse, demanding more hands-on involvement in NC matters for the PFF elections. Unsurprisingly, Pakistan couldn’t play any international football under the FIFA ban and many Shah group allies began to part ways.

In November, the government managed to evict the Shah group on a technicality – for not paying the land lease for PFF House. But then, the government, probably to buy more time for itself, delayed returning PFF House to NC and demanded direct talks with FIFA about this matter.

A lot of back and forth happened between the government and the NC, but eventually, the issue was ‘resolved’ to return PFF House and an eight-month timeline for ‘free and fair’ PFF elections. The hope is that the formal return of PFF NC will be soon completed and the FIFA ban on Pakistan will be lifted in early 2022.

Optimism for 2022

A post-handover situation is expected to remain tense. Many Shah group members would hope the ruling party again sides with them. The government, for its part, has to stop its allies and affiliates from interfering in PFF matters as they are essentially answerable to FIFA only.

The NC should be allowed to work on the PFF elections without any interference. Simultaneously, NC can revive the national team with international friendlies.

Amid all this political nonsense, the ones who suffered the most are footballers. Most have had very few opportunities to play international football for years and their careers have stagnated.

To make things worse for them, the federal government have recently announced such schemes which will lead to a reduction in departments interference in the sporting activities in the country, eventually reducing the opportunity for these athletes to earn for their families.

None of the middle and retired-aged folks fighting over the control of PFF since 2015 suffered anything during these crises. It is clear that for them, footballers are mere pawns they can use and abuse.

Ali Ahsan – Editor of FootballPakistan.Com, an independent website covering Pakistani football since 2003

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