PFF Extraordinary Congress meeting to be held virtually on January 23

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Extraordinary Congress meeting will be held virtually on January 23.

The basic purpose of the meeting is to amend the Article 38 of the PFF Constitution which explains the eligibility criteria for the PFF president.

Earlier, the congress meeting had been held on November 19 at Lahore which was also attended by the delegation of FIFA and the AFC. However, it was postponed when representatives of a few departments, who had not been invited to the meeting despite being congress members, forced their way into the meeting hall. And one of them allegedly told the meeting that they would not proceed without their presence.

On this the representatives of FIFA and the AFC held a detailed meeting with the PFF NC and it was decided that the meeting should be postponed.

It had also been decided that the meeting will be reconvened when the departments issue will be resolved as they had referred this issue to the PFF disciplinary and ethics committee.

And the other day the PFF disciplinary and ethics committee restored the congress membership of four departments including PAF, Navy, Police and Railways.

These departments had been earlier denied the status due to their inability to field their teams in three successive competitive events.

The committee took the decision after listening to the arguments of all these three departments in detail.

The committee decision says: “Considering the contents of the Appeals and hearing the arguments of both the parties, the complaints/appeals are allowed on the following terms:

“The complainants/departments are required to abide by the terms of the PFF Constitution and shall ensure their participation in future events. The complainants shall ensure the compliance of the PFF Constitution in its letter and spirit and will not raise objections that are contrary to the principles of FIFA, AFC and PFF. The competent authority of the PFF shall issue the invitation letters to the complainants/appellants, No1 to 4, departments for their eligibility to participate in the PFF Congress as per the PFF Constitution (2014).”

The committee also recalled that the background of each appeal involves a contentious issue that arose during the PFF Extraordinary Congress meeting on November 19, 2024.

“Five service organizations, who were deemed to be Congress members under Article 23 and 24 of the PFF Constitution, objected to their suspension from voting rights in the said Congress. Specifically, complainants/appellants No1 to 3 (Pakistan Navy Sports Control Committee and Pakistan Air Force Sports Control Committee and Pakistan Police Sports Control Board) raised objections regarding their suspension while Complainants/Appellant No.4 (Pakistan Railways Sports Control Board) objected to not receiving an invitation to attend the PFF Extraordinary Congress meeting via email on November 18, 2024.”

“The Executive Committee of the PFF along with officials from FIFA and AFC, jointly decided to refer the complaints from a total number of five service organizations to the PFF's internal bodies, specifically the PFF Disciplinary Committee.”

The Appellants did not object to this decision which is confirmed by a letter from FIFA dated December 16, 2024. A relevant excerpt from this letter states: “In addition to the above, the Bureau took note that, on 19 November 2024, just before the first Extraordinary PFF Congress could begin, the representatives of five departmental associations that had been excluded from the PFF Congress for failing to comply with statutory requirements requested to participate and vote at the congress. To ensure due process and to avoid risking the rejection of the proposed constitutional changes, it was decided not to allow their participation and, instead, that their request for inclusion would be referred to the PFF’s internal bodies for appeal, in accordance with the established procedure. As a result the members of the PFF were informed on the same day that the PFF Congress would reconvene before 15 December 2024 to adopt the new PFF Constitution once the appeal had been resolved.

“Moreover, the Bureau was made aware that from 24 to 27 November 2024 massive political rallies in Islamabad led to the closure by the government of highways and public transportation throughout Punjab, making it impossible for the PFF administration to deal with the appeal process relating to the departmental associations. As a result, the Normalization Committee was unable to convene the Extraordinary PFF Congress as previously agreed with FIFA and the AFC.

“It is important to highlight that the PFF Secretariat took steps to protect the fundamental rights of each department by sending multiple reminders for them to submit their respective appeals.

“Each department was given the opportunity to file an appeal to protect their fundamental rights as outlined in the PFF Constitution. However, it is important to note that PIA, despite being given a fair chance to submit their complaint/appeal to the PFF Secretariat, chose not to do so and expressed their lack of interest, nor exists any proof that they have participated in any of the mentioned events. As a result the PFF Disciplinary and Ethics Committee decided to move forward with the appeals submitted by Appellants No 1 to 4 based on the reasons presented in their appeals.”

Hearing

Navy: Navy’s representative Muhammad Kamran supported the contents of the appeal submitted to the committee and argued that the appellant (Navy) is an active member of the PFF Congress and regularly participates in events and tournaments organized by the PFF. He provided a list of events attended by the appellant between 2008 and 2023. The appellant argued that only the Congress has the authority to decide on suspending or expelling its members as stated in Article 16(4), 17, and 36 of the PFF Constitution. During the hearing, the Appellant claimed that Article 24(3) of the Constitution does not require Congress members to participate in three consecutive championships or sports activities. Therefore, the letter sent by the PFF Legal Department on November 18, 2024, rejecting the Appellant's right to participate and vote in the PFF Congress is invalid and against the spirit of the Constitution. The Appellant requested their appeal to be accepted.

PAF: The PAF’s representative Shahzad Anwar appeared before the PFF Disciplinary Committee on December 23, 2024, along with Squadron Leader Mohsin Choudhary, Officer Commanding SPF. They expressed their support for the appeal submitted by the Appellant. Shehzad Anwar argued that PAF Sports Control Committee has played a crucial role in the development of football in Pakistan. He noted that the PAF won the National Challenge Cup in 2014 and 2018 and has contributed to the national team by serving as the head coach. He also pointed out that he is a professional FIFA A-Licensed Coach and was also a member of the AFC Coach Education Panel from 2015 to 2018. Additionally, he acknowledged the efforts of the Normalisation Committee, which is the Executive Committee of PFF, in reviving football in Pakistan. The Appellant further discussed Articles 16 (4), 24(3), 32 (1)(d), and 17 of the PFF Constitution. He focused on the interpretation of Article 24(3) and argued that the explanation given by the PFF Legal Department in their letter dated November 18, 2024, was unclear and misinterpreted. They insisted that they have not failed to participate in three consecutive championships or major sports activities and there is no obligation stated in the Constitution on how this rule should be enforced. The Appellant also argued that only Congress has the authority to interpret the Constitution and no one else does. Lastly the Appellant requested that their appeal be accepted.

Railways: Railways representative Syed Zeeshan Ali Zaidi, Chief Organizer of the Pakistan Railways Football team, represented Railways instead of their Secretary General Muhammad Ismail of the PRSB due to unforeseen circumstances. The Appellants reaffirmed the points made in their earlier appeal submitted via email on December 11, 2024. They stated that their department has the right to be a member of the PFF Congress as outlined in Article 23(a) and Article 24(1) of the PFF Constitution. They emphasized that they have consistently participated in the PFF events. Additionally, they maintained that only the Congress has the power to add or remove members. Lastly, they argued that the PFF's interpretation of Article 24(3) is not in line with the true meaning of the PFF Constitution.

Police: The Appellant Department initially designated Jawad Ahmed Dogar, Additional IG Police as their authorized representative and requested a Zoom link for the meeting as he was in the USA at that time. However, due to connection issues with the Zoom link he was unable to attend the meeting. Instead, Abdullah Jan, Secretary of the Pakistan Police Sports Control Board, appeared before the committee to represent the Appellant's case. The Appellant agreed with the arguments made by Appellants No. 1 to 3 regarding constitutional matters. However, he pointed out that "National Games" should have been included in the eligibility criteria for Congress members as it is a significant sporting event in Pakistan. He noted that the rules for this event were developed by the PFF itself and brought to the committee's attention that the Competition Rules 2023 had been signed by Qamar Qureshi, the PFF Competition Manager.

Arguments of the PFF legal representative

Ali Akram, the legal representative of the PFF, provided representation for the federation and endorsed the interpretation made by the Secretariat.

The representative argued that the central issue in the appellants' case pertains solely to Article 24(3) of the PFF Constitution and contended that the interpretation adopted is correct. He stated that the PFF has not acted in bad faith in its interpretation of this article. The respondent federation asserted that, under Article 24(3), it can be understood that a unit, league, or member must participate in three consecutive championships, premier leagues, or major sports activities to maintain eligibility for the PFF Congress. He further explained that the term "consecutive," as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, means: In interpreting Article 24(3) of the PFF Constitution he argued that if an organization or department fails to participate in even one championship, premier league, or major sports activity, the Appellants (as departments) could face suspension from voting in the PFF Congress. He emphasized that in order to establish the Congress it is essential to comply with the PFF Constitution in both its letter and spirit which the PFF Secretariat has appropriately done. According to the respondent's representative, only three departments including Army, HEC, WAPDA satisfy the requirements to be part of the PFF Congress after a thorough review of all documents in accordance with the checklist that was communicated to both these departments and the Appellants. The respondent's representative argued that the Police Sports Control Board indicated their participation in the National Challenge Cup in 2023 and 2020 but their women's team has only recently been established. On the other hand, the Pakistan Railways Sports Board reported participation only in the National Challenge Cup 2023, leaving out participation in both the National Women's Football Championship and the National Challenge Cup 2020. Furthermore, the respondent's representative contended that several departments and service organizations did not respond to official communications or submit the required documentation within the specified time frame. They submitted their documents on October 31, 2024, and indicated their non-participation in the National Women’s Football Championship specifically, the Pakistan Air Force Sports Control Committee and the Pakistan Navy Sports Control.

Additionally, PIA have neither responded to communications nor submitted any documentation within the time allowed while they did communicate via WhatsApp they never filed an appeal or submitted any documents and have remained unresponsive. The legal representative of the PFF distinguished between Article 16(4) and Article 24(3) of the PFF Constitution noting that Article 16(4) refers to the phrase "Any Sports Activities," while Article 24(3) specifically imposes an obligation on each member department to participate in the PFF Congress. Therefore, these two articles should be interpreted differently. In conclusion the legal representative of the PFF requested that the appeals submitted by the Appellants be dismissed.