PFF presidency hopefuls on the edge as election regulations near finalization

Those who want to contest for the Pakistan Football Federation’s (PFF) presidency have been waiting anxiously for the election regulations which are being finalized through the mutual discussion among FIFA, AFC and PFF Normalization Committee.

Nukta has learnt that the regulations could be finalized by October 20 which will be followed by the PFF elections.

“Really, it’s a great issue and we are waiting for the regulations anxiously. NC is also adopting delaying tactics to keep the aspirants for presidency guessing,” a PFF presidency candidate told Nukta.

The regulations will explain who will be able to contest for the PFF’s presidency.

“It’s not so easy. If the PFF’s statutes are violated then another legal battle could start, this time at the international forum, as those who will be hit will definitely go to Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS),” a stakeholder, who wants to contest the elections of the PFF presidency, said.

According to experts, it would be seen whether the PFF elections are conducted on the basis of the 2011-2015 tenure or on the basis of the 2015-2019 tenure.

“This is tricky. We cannot say anything on record but it is a real test of both FIFA and the AFC how they handle the situation. As the things have reached a climax and at this stage anything negative may derail the whole process. So, it’s the decisive phase to bury the long-standing issue and conduct fair and transparent PFF elections,” said a stakeholder.

Experts say if elections are conducted on the basis of 2011-2015 Congress, then there will be no such issue but if they are held on the basis of the 2015-2019 Congress then issues may emerge and the things could get complicated.

“There are several complications in the latest dispute-filled tenure (2015-2019) (cut short by different issues),” a source said.

The PFF Constitution Article 38 is also interpreted by experts differently.

The Article 38 (clause-4) says: “A candidate for the office of the President PFF shall have played an active role as member PFF Congress, Member PFF Executive Committee, PFF Elected Official, AFC, FIFA for at least 2 of the Preceding 5 years before being proposed as a candidate (i.e. The candidate for President PFF shall have been the member PFF Congress, PFF Executive and PFF Elected Official, AFC, FIFA Official / Member Committee for at least 2 of the preceding last five years.”

The big issue is that so far, the official notification of the results of the elections at the provincial level has not been issued by NC which has been serving since September 2019.

“Yes, we are waiting for the official notification. You know several people from various provinces have filed appeals but we expect the notification next week,” a newly-elected provincial president told Nukta.

PFF NC Chairman Haroon Malik speaks during a meeting. PFF

PML-N MPA Naveed Lodhi (Punjab), former health minister of Khyber Pakhtuhnkhwa Syed Zahir Shah, Mohammad Jameel (Balochistan) and Azam Khan (Sindh) have been elected as provincial presidents in the elections held last month.

The long-standing dispute, which had emerged in April 2015 with the controversial elections of the Punjab Football Association (PFA), has inflicted a huge damage on the country’s football for the last nine years.

Barring NC’s regime, since September 2019, which was also hit by a nine-month suspension of the country by FIFA in 2021-2022, the game suffered direly in the rest of the timeframe. Pakistan not only missed several foreign tours but in the same period the nation also lost a complete generation of footballers since football was inactive within the country.