FIFA Suspends Pakistan Football Federation Again
- Abeera Marium Siddiqui
- February 7, 2025
- 4:23 pm
- 100
- Sports
FIFA suspends PFF again. The newly elected PFF Congress refused to accept key constitutional amendments. As a result, Pakistan’s teams cannot play in international competitions. FIFA has also stopped financial support, creating more problems for football in the country.
Why Did FIFA Suspend the PFF?
FIFA explained the decision in a statement:
“The PFF has been suspended with immediate effect due to its failure to adopt a revision of the PFF Constitution that would ensure truly fair and democratic elections and thereby fulfill its obligations as mandated by FIFA as part of the ongoing normalisation process of PFF.”
FIFA also said that Pakistan can return only if the PFF Congress approves the proposed amendments by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The key amendments focus on election rules. FIFA wants clear criteria for presidential candidates. The PFF Normalisation Committee (NC) had a deadline to hold elections. But the rejection of these changes stopped the process.
PFF Normalisation Committee’s Response
Haroon Malik, Chairman of the PFF NC, had already warned about this suspension. While speaking to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), he said:
“FIFA wants to make some amendments to the PFF Constitution to bring it in line with international standards. In the recent efforts, the majority of the newly elected PFF Congress members have not agreed to FIFA’s proposals.”
He explained that FIFA might impose a conditional suspension due to this deadlock. He also said this would take away Pakistan’s right to compete internationally. FIFA’s financial support would also stop.
The PFF had made some progress despite these challenges. The federation successfully completed elections at the district level. Pakistan’s team also reached the second round of the 2023 Olympic qualifiers. However, FIFA insists on fair and transparent elections at all levels.
Pakistan Football’s History of Suspensions
FIFA has suspended the Pakistan Football Federation several times before. Governance issues have created ongoing problems.
- In April 2021, FIFA banned PFF due to third-party interference, which violated FIFA’s rules.
- The ban ended in June 2022 after FIFA confirmed that the Normalisation Committee took back control.
Despite these efforts, internal conflicts continue. FIFA has repeatedly asked PFF to follow international rules. But Congress members still refuse to accept the required changes.
Earlier today, Malik wrote to PFF Congress members. He requested a meeting to solve the issue. But FIFA’s deadline has passed. The future of Pakistan football remains uncertain.
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