ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Sports Board on Friday slammed the response of the Pakistan Football Federation Normalisation Committee as “failing to address specific issues” with a parliamentary panel having sought a report from the FIFA-appointed committee regarding the election process of the country’s football governing body.

The PSB had written to the Haroon Malik-led body regarding the call for an Extraordinary PFF Cong­ress on Nov 19 in Lahore, where the amendments to the PFF Constitution are set to be under discussion.

In its response, the PFF NC had said that it was working according to the mandate given to it by FIFA, whilst terming the election process as transparent. In a generic reply, the PFF NC had also highlighted the achievements of the country’s national teams and well as the fact that it had successfully organised domestic game.

The PSB, in its Nov 15 letter, said that PFF NC had “failed to address the specific issues and instead focused on general points” and asked for a “detailed and substantive response” to the queries raised.

The PFF NC had held provincial polls in Sep­tem­ber with the notification of the final results coming on Wednesday, a week after it had called the Congress meeting, the PSB noted.

“That sequence of events corroborates PSB’s concerns,” said the PSB. “Notably, the Congress meeting notice was issued on Nov 5, yet notifications for Provincial Association elections were only issued on Nov 13 after sensitisation by PSB. This delay substantiates the validity of our concerns about procedural lapses.”

It also asked the PFF NC about the authorisation from the FIFA Council regarding amendments to the constitution, whilst asking NC chairman Haroon to not use the title of PFF president.

The PSB added that it respects PFF autonomy. “How­ever, autonomy ent­ails both rights and responsibilities,” it added. “As per the IOC Olympic Agenda 2020, autonomy must be exercised responsibly, adh­e­ring to organisational sta­t­utes and mandates. Auton­omy does not permit actions that undermine transparency, fairness, or constitutional governance.”

The PSB asked the PFF NC chairman to attend a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Com­mittee on Inter-provincial Coordination on the same day as the Extraordinary Congress.

“The National Assembly Standing Committee on IPC has scheduled a meeting on Nov 19 in Islamabad, inviting the PFF to present its report on the election process,” it said. “In light of this, PSB recommends you [Chairman NC] may attend the meeting, present your view point rega­rding concerns of football community before august Parliamentary forum.”

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024