LAHORE, Feb 7 Former Pakistan football captain and chief selector Col Mujahidullah Tareen has demanded that the president and secretary of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) should be sacked for the national team's worst-ever position in the 11th South Asian Games in Bangladesh.

“The President Faisal Saleh Hayat and Secretary Col Ahmad Yar Lodhi had made tall claims about Pakistan's victory under the coaching of George Kottan, but the team failed to win even a single match and came eighth in the eight-team competition,” Mujahid told Dawn on Saturday.

“While Kottan involved England-based players, PFF put in all its resources to prepare a winning combination but failed miserably due to its non-professional approach, planning and mismanagement,” he added.

“I had already pointed out the expected poor results in the games as the entire scenario was just not appreciable,” he said.

Mujahid said that the 5-1 defeat at the hands of India in the games was shameful, while Pakistan even failed to beat war-torn Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

He said that the prime minister of Pakistan had given a special grant of Rs20 million for the foreign coach but the results Kottan delivered could be easily bettered by any qualified Pakistani coach.

Col Mujahid also pointed out that that there was a lack of interest before sending the team to Dhaka as the camp started with a poor attendance due to various reasons.

“The boys kept on joining camp till the last moment as Abdul Aziz of NBP joined it just before the departure of the team. Abbas, also of NBP, was not physically fit. Instead of including four best players over the age of 23 as was allowed for the competition they included physically unfit and out of form players like Arif and Shahid of Wapda besides Aziz and Abbas,” he alleged.

He said that the national captain Mohammad Essa Khan had also resigned as a protest after informing the PFF secretary about Kottan's poor working while advising them to sack him.

Also PFF's non-technocrat director technical Pervaiz Saeed Mir was incapable of monitoring the technical aspects of the game since he was not a footballer himself.

He said as a matter of fact a director technical is supposed to be the most technical, professional and dedicated individual as the whole federation revolves around him. But the PFF president did not want a team of professionals.

“Faisal wants persons like Ahmad Yar Lodhi, Pervez Saeed Mir, Jehangir Lodhi, Nadia Naqvi and Diana Sharifi, who should not only look after his personnel interests like the Shah Jewna Textile Mills, etc., but also cover up his irregularities and illegalities with the federation. They are only interested in heavy salaries and allowances, foreign tours, besides luxury vehicles at the cost of public money and poor footballers,” he added.

He said that the footballers were getting just Rs10,000 to 15,000 per month and most of them were contractual employees.

He also said that with the annual grants from FIFA and AFC, sponsorships along with the PFF Secretariat building's rent and the amount from the prime minister and the Pakistan Sports Board, the PFF was a cash-rich body of the country.

But the funds were being wasted on TA/DA, luxury vehicles, foreign tours, etc.

He also dispelled the impression created by the PFF that PSB's decision of setting up camp at the Punjab Stadium Lahore did not favour team preparation.

“I believe the venue has very good ground since various international matches of AFC President's Cup, AFC qualifying round and Olympic Qualifying rounds had been organised there without any complaint,” he said.

Mujahid said Pakistan had a very good record at the South Asian Games, winning it for four times in 1989, 1991, 2004 and 2006 whereas India, the best team of the region had won it thrice.

Incidentally, Mujahid was the PFF's secretary in 1989 when Pakistan won the gold medal for the first time in the games.