Former captain Essa offers key suggestions for Pakistan football's resurgence

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Essa has highlighted some major points which he said the newly-elected Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) president Mohsin Gilani should work on which will help to resurrect football in the country.

Essa stressed the importance of merit and transparency within the PFF’s operations after a long period of instability.

“The most important thing for the new PFF set-up under Mohsin Gilani will be to ensure merit and transparency. If right people are brought for the right job, then it would not be difficult to implement the plans which will be made for ensuring Pakistan’s football progress,” Essa told Nukta in an interview.

“In the first step there is a need of a solid domestic structure and to induct federating units properly in the system. If football is centralized and federating units, like in the past, will have no say in football development then the sport will not progress,” Essa pointed out.

“The structure of the provincial football associations must be similar to the structure of the PFF. They should have proper secretariates in their capital cities with all the requisite quality manpower and districts should be fully involved in the whole enterprise,” Essa said.

“Coaches and referees’ education is too important and the most necessary thing is that PFF will need a strong marketing department which could generate revenue as sponsors are more eager to invest in football. Only seeking FIFA and AFC funding will not work. Football has become too much demanding and it will need hefty funds to generate so that it could add to the fund which is given to the PFF by the world and continental bodies,” Essa said.

“The PFF will need to work on grassroot level. The PFF will need to set a target to achieve under long-term plans. There is a serious effort needed for the uplift of football. There should be no compromise on merit, I will stress again,” Essa asserted.

He advised the new set-up to lift bans on football stakeholders which are in control of the federation.

“There should be no enmity and discrimination and only a joint effort from the entire football community will ensure Pakistan football is properly resurrected which has been damaged immensely during the last ten years or so,” Essa said.

“There is no room for any revenge and top practitioners will be needed to insert in the set-up to streamline the system,” Essa was quick to add.

Essa said that there should be two leagues.

“Along with the Pakistan Premier League there should be professional league also. Once we get success in the professional league then we will have a room for disbanding the Premier League. Until we bring our domestic football to the standard of international football, we will not be able to achieve success,” Essa said.

“I am not in favor of disbanding the old structure due to weak financial position of the federation. Look, India is a big market but it has kept both its Premier League and ISL. Once we get money and then we can think about professional club league. We cannot directly go towards that without having a strong and sustainable alternative structure,” Essa said.

“If we go with both leagues and a player gets 30 to 35 domestic matches then it will help the nation in international football,” he said.

Essa also suggested that at the first step PFF should rely on its own coaches and footballers, adding, the money which will go abroad will be spent at home.

“Yes, if a high-standard foreign coach is hired for long term and local coaches work with him then it may help. But initially the PFF should start with the home-grown coaches. If the PFF is really interested in foreign coach then we had a good experience with Bahrain’s coach Salman Sharida and Mohammed Shamlan and if any one of them is approached then it will work as under them Pakistan team had progressed and the best thing is that they know the culture of Pakistan,” he said.

Essa also showed keen interest in serving as the PFF Director Technical.

“Yes, I am interested and can deliver as Director Technical. If there is no hindrance that a Director Technical should be a Pro License holder and if there is any room for me then I am confident to serve efficiently in the capacity,” he said.

Essa said that after taking charge the PFF chief Mohsin Gilani should take two steps immediately.

“Once he will take charge, he should announce the Premier League and lift the bans on football stakeholders, the things which are in the hands of the PFF chief. Yes, those bans, which will take some time as a due process will be followed then it can be delayed,” he said.

Essa also suggested to include some Under-23 team players in the senior team.

“If there is the possibility it will help them to gain experience for future national duty,” Essa signed off.