Islamabad, 12 March 2022 (TDI): Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Fehmida Mirza; congratulated athletes and fans of football due to the return of the Football House to the FIFA approved Normalization Committee.
Mirza announced that the IPC is looking forward to the lifting of the ban by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association from the Pakistan Football Federation. With the lift of the ban on Pakistani football; FIFA will restore its membership, and the country will restore a partnership with the normalization committee for fair and transparent elections.
CONFERENCE BETWEEN IPC, ASIAN FOOTBALL CONFEDERATION, AND NC
Fehmida Mirza, the Federal Minister of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), had a virtual meeting with representatives from FIFA; the Asian Football Federation, and also the Normalization Committee (NC).
Furthermore, representatives from FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation, and members of the Normalization Committee. They attended the conference to address the current football situation in Pakistan.
Sanjeevan Balasingam, Director Member Associations, Rolph Tanner, Director Governance, Laura Dijak, Sr. Manager Governance from FIFA, Purushottam Kattel, Sr. Manager, Dinesh De Silva from AFC, and Haroon Malik Chairman, Haris Azmat Member, Shahid Niaz Khokhar Member, and Saud Hashmi Member from Pakistan’s Normalization Committee.
PRAISES FROM FIFA TO IPC MINISTRY
In the meeting, a FIFA representative praised the IPC ministry, Pakistan Sports Board (PSB); and the federal government for their efforts in resolving the football issue. He then expressed a strong desire to engage with PSB on future football initiatives in Pakistan. “FIFA will withdraw its suspension as soon as the football house returns to NC so that it may fulfill its responsibility of conducting PFF elections,” says the statement.
He stated that after the removal of the suspensions, the country will use FIFA development funds to promote football.
The AFC representative praised the efforts and encouraged FIFA to lift the suspension of football activity in Pakistan as soon as possible. When FIFA lifts the ban, this would allow Pakistani football to resume.
Meanwhile, Fehmida highlighted the actions and efforts that have already been made to resolve the matter; and she underlined her commitment to holding free, fair, and transparent PFF elections as soon as possible. She promised that Football House would be given over to NC at the earliest and that she would be personally monitoring the situation.
The participants acknowledged and applauded the government’s efforts, and they pledged their complete support. The summit was a significant step forward in bringing Pakistan closer to international football and restoring the PFF’s membership.
