The strange ways of Pakistan Football Federation

Why would you care really? Pakistani Football Team does it even exist? It didn’t for the past three years. PFF’s internal wrangling and its political fallout had seen Pakistan’s FIFA membership suspended. Now, after much hue & cry, Pakistan will be returning to the international game. They will be taking part in the Asian Games and the SAFF Suzuki Cup.

But before that, the competent and professional body they are PFF have stopped their players from speaking to the media. As reported by Umaid Wasim of Dawn, PFF spokesperson defend the ban.

“At times the players don’t realise what they’re saying so we’ve stopped them from speaking,”

In response, Kaleem ullah, the experienced star striker questioned how PFF could implement such an order considering none of the players are centrally contracted to them.

To further complicate matters, PFF’s Sardar Naveed Haider Khan accused the striker of signing a contract with Turkish fifth-division side Izmirspor ‘for the money’ and neglecting national duty.

However Kaleem disagreed.

“My name was specifically omitted from the list by [PFF president] Faisal Saleh Hayat because of the statements I’d given about the working of the PFF,” he told Dawn on Friday, adding a new twist to the saga that has engulfed Pakistan football this week. “It’s very petty-minded of them to do that really,”

Initially Kaleem was left out of the training camp, and was told that players plying their trade in foreign leagues will be called later. However, later PFF wrote to K-Electric, the home team of Kaleem to release him for national duty. The contradiction was apparent.

Nevertheless, the rock-bottom Pakistan had hit, there is only one way left for us to go. At least we are playing. That’s a start.