PFF NC likely to get three-month extension amid election delays

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Normalization Committee is likely to get a further extension for three months until March 15, 2025, to dispose of the remaining tricky part of the PFF electoral process.

Nukta has learnt reliably that the extension case has been submitted with the Bureau of FIFA Council and very soon its outcome will be known.

It must be noted that NC’s current tenure will expire on December 15, 2024.

NC had to complete the PFF electoral process until December 15, 2024, but the process got delayed after the authorities had to postpone the PFF Extraordinary Congress meeting soon after it had started at the Lahore’s Pearl Continental Hotel on November 19.

A delegation of FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) was also attending that meeting. The meeting had been convened to make some partial amendments to the PFF Constitution Article 38 which relates to the PFF president’s eligibility matter.

NC and the foreign delegation took a judicious decision to postpone the meeting when some representatives of a handful of departments entered into the meeting hall claiming that they were the Congress members and one of them allegedly told the meeting that how it could be held without their presence.

Nukta has reliably learnt that on Wednesday NC wrote letters to those departments advising them to explain that how they are part of the PFF Congress considering the constitution.

NC had not invited those handful of departments for the Congress meeting because according to the authorities they did not fall in the criteria of Congress members.

According to sources the PFF Extraordinary Congress meeting will be reconvened after the status of a handful of departments relating to their eligibility as Congress members will get resolved.

Nukta also understands that the extension, which will be given to the PFF NC, can also be less than three months. But the ground reality is that since Congress will also need to make some necessary amendment to the Article 38 so it is more likely that three months extension will be handed to NC.

Now, it’s time for FIFA, AFC and NC not to compress the electoral process unnaturally and unconstitutionally which may lead to derailment of the entire process and leave a bad impact on the country’s football.

Third-party interference

FIFA and the AFC don’t permit states to interfere in the affairs of its affiliated associations. And it would be interesting to see how the things proceed in coming months as Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) is also not happy with the way NC has handled the electoral process.

According to sources amendment to the Article 38 is not an easy sail and it would need a highly productive debate on the house floor to take a decision which would leave a good impact on Pakistan’s future football.

The nomination of three women congress members has also created a split in the house and it would be seen how this matter will be resolved in the next Congress meeting which will be attended by the representatives of both AFC and FIFA.

NC had been installed in 2019 with the mandate to hold the PFF elections. During the first period Hamza Khan acted as NC chairman but he did not do anything noteworthy towards the PFF elections. After his resignation towards the end of 2020, NC brought in Canada-based Haroon Malik as its new chairman along with new members Shahid Khokhar, Saud Hashmi and Haris Azmat. The same body still handles the affairs and has conducted elections at the districts and provincial levels.