FIFA suspends PFF, but where is the roadmap for reinstatement?
With PFF suspended, FIFA's mandate to Faisal Saleh Hayyat expired and court-appointed administrator not being recognized, one wonders what the roadmap would be for normalization
October 11, 2017
KARACHI: World football's governing body FIFA announced on Wednesday to suspend Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect, but it has provided no roadmap for reinstatement of Pakistan Football. There seem to be more questions than answers.
FIFA's ban comes two months after a final warning by the governing body to authorities in Pakistan to hand over PFF control to Faisal Saleh Hayat-led PFF, which Pakistan turned a blind eye to.
"FIFA has decided to suspend the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect in accordance with the decision of the Bureau of the FIFA Council dated 10 October 2017 on account of undue third-party interference," said a statement from FIFA.
"The Bureau took this decision as a result of the fact that the PFF offices and its accounts remain in control of a court-appointed administrator, which constitutes a violation of the PFF obligations to manage its affairs independently and without influence from any third parties in accordance with the FIFA Statutes," the statement read.
The administrator in question was appointed by Lahore High Court in July 2015, following the controversial PFF elections earlier that year, which saw Faisal Saleh Hayat re-elected as president of PFF for the third time.
FIFA discouraged the appointment of the administrator in PFF and termed it a ‘third-party interference’ and against FIFA's statues. The chaos led to Pakistan Football teams missing out on numerous international events during last two years.
"FIFA or AFC won't accept any team and Faisal's group wasn't allowed by authorities here to carry out football activities, hence no international games for Pakistan in last two years," said a source.
FIFA added in its statement that the suspension will be lifted once the PFF offices and access to the PFF accounts are returned to the PFF.
However, there is no clarification yet as to which PFF the FIFA is referring to, as FIFA's mandate provided to Faisal Saleh Hayat has expired.
It is worth mentioning that after the controversial elections in 2015 and the legal battle between two groups of PFF, FIFA had given two years’ mandate to Faisal Saleh Hayat to bring reforms in PFF, which ended in September 2017.
“The FIFA Executive Committee decided that the current PFF leadership – led by Mr Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat - would be given two years (until September 2017) to revise the PFF statutes and organise elections accordingly,” FIFA had said in September 2015.
In July this year, FIFA gave a final ultimatum to authorities in Pakistan for handing over football affairs to elected-president PFF Faisal Saleh Hayat or face suspension.
Following the suspension, the PFF loses all its membership rights of the FIFA statutes. The PFF representative and club teams are no longer entitled to take part in international competitions until the suspension is lifted.
This also means that neither the PFF nor any of its members or officials may benefit from any development programmes, courses or training from FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation.
Moreover, and in accordance with Article 16 paragraph 3 of the FIFA statutes, other member associations may not entertain sporting contact with the PFF during its suspension.
With PFF now suspended, FIFA's mandate to Faisal Saleh Hayyat expired and court-appointed administrator not being recognized, one wonders what the roadmap would be for PFF towards reinstatement and normalization.
"Usually FIFA would appoint a normalization committee, but that's not the case here. So, it is unclear what PFF is supposed to do now," a source said.
