FIFA confirms two-month extension for PFF NC

The world football governing body (FIFA) have extended the mandate of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Normalization Committee for two months until February 15.

The extension has been given to ensure that amendments in the constitution can be made by the PFF.

“Finally, the Bureau was informed that based on the new timeline provided by the Normalization Committee, it is now expected that the PFF Constitution will be amended by the PFF Congress in January 2025 and that a new electoral code will come into force soon after,” FIFA said in a letter it wrote to NC.

“Once the new PFF Constitution has been approved by the PFF Congress, an elective PFF Congress will be convened by the Normalization Committee in line with the provisions of the new PFF Constitution.

“In view of the above and in order for the Normalization Committee to complete its mandate as decided by the Bureau, in particular to partially revise the PFF Constitution and to organize and conduct elections for a new PFF Executive Committee by no later than 15 February 2025, the Bureau decided on 15 December 2024 to extend the mandate of the Normalization Committee for the PFF until 15 February 2025 at the latest.”

After multiple extensions in the past, this should be the final mandate for disposing of the electoral procedure which is stuck at the PFF level.

FIFA, AFC and NC are going to amend the PFF Constitution Article 38 which defines the eligibility criteria for the PFF president.

These bodies want to open the canvas and make it more democratic in order to give chance to majority of the stakeholders to contest for the PFF’s presidency.

However, this is a tricky affair and if handled poorly then it may further complicate the situation.

On November 19 an Extraordinary PFF Congress had been convened in order to go for partial amendments but the meeting was postponed after representatives of a few departments forced their way into the meeting hall claiming that they still were the PFF Congress members.

One of them told the meeting that Congress moot could not be held without their presence. And on this the representatives of both FIFA and AFC, who were present in the meeting, held discussion with the NC and decided to postpone the meeting.

The issue was that NC had not invited four departments including PAF, Navy, Police and Railways for the congress meeting on the plea that they were no longer meeting the required criteria.

On November 18 a workshop had also been held which were also attended by the newly-elected Congress members to discuss why FIFA and AFC along with NC were going to amend the Article 38.

Now it has become clear that the Extraordinary Congress will be reconvened and effort will be made to go for the target amendment. However, the meeting could be held offshore in order to ensure smooth proceedings as the process cannot afford any further hiccup.

Congress also will need to handle the three women congress members issue as NC had directly put them in the Congress without following the already settled tradition.

As per tradition the PFF chief nominates the three women but they become Congress members through proper voting in the Congress.

So, a debate is expected to be held on this matter also. After the postponed November 19 meeting at the Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore most of the Congress members were of the opinion that how NC could directly make three women as Congress members.

Following some major issues, FIFA installed NC in September 2019 by giving it a nine-month mandate to hold the PFF elections. However, nothing happened in the next few years until Haroon Malik-led NC, which was brought in the start of 2021 following the resignation of the first chairman Hamza Khan in December 2020, was able to hold the elections at the district and provincial level and that too after wasting a huge time.

However, it is still not easy to hold the elections at the PFF level so peacefully as some more complications, may be legal, could emerge if things are not handled rightly.