Lahore, 1 July 2022 (TDI): Federal Minister, Ehsan Mazari congratulated the nation as International FIFA restored the membership of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF). It took almost 15 months for international football to return to Pakistan.
Fed Minister @officialemazari congratulated the whole nation on lifting of ban by @FIFAcom & extended gratitude to all the footaball family of Pakistan & its stakeholders who put their efforts, especially @SportsBoardPak’s DG @asifzamanpsb & the team.@CMShehbaz@BBhuttoZardari
— Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (@mo_ipc) June 30, 2022
Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) – the international governing body of association football – suspended the Pakistan Football Federation’s membership on 7 April 2021 due to third-party interference in PFF. It was a serious violation of the FIFA statutes.
The lifting of the ban means that the Pakistan football team will now be able to participate in international events and friendlies.
Moreover, it will normalize football activities and would finally resume in the country after a 15-month-long suspension.
Pakistan Football Federation
Moreover, the President of the Pakistan Football Federation, Haroon Ahmed Malik also congratulated the nation and the football fraternity on the end of the PFF’s suspension.
He said that the hard work of the Normalization Committee and the prayers of the football lover of Pakistan were the key reasons behind the lifting of the international suspension.
On 27 March 2021, the former president of PFF, Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah, and his group, attacked the PFF’s headquarters. The people inside the office were held, hostage.
As a result of this incident, the 2021 National Women Football Championship was canceled.
Previously, FIFA issued several warnings to Pakistan Football Federation on numerous occasions and was eventually suspended on 10 October 2017.
The ban was lifted in 2018 and Pakistan was allowed to participate in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia and the 2018 SAFF competitions in Nepal.
Pakistan is one of the major producers of footballs. Around 55% of the world’s football production is happening in Sialkot, Pakistan, and exported around the world.
Some of the famous Pakistani footballers who have played for international clubs are:
Kaleemullah Khan – Midfielder / Forward, Jaffar Khan – Goalkeeper, Zesh Rehman – Defender, and Muhammad Essa Khan – Forward.
