Mohsen Gilani elected PFF president after six-year hiatus

KARACHI: After a six-year gap, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) elected its 17th president on Tuesday, appointing former Fifa Development Officer Mohsen Gilani to lead the sport’s governing body.

In the second round of elections, Gilani secured a simple majority with 13 votes, defeating his closest rival, Taha Alizai of Karachi United Football Club, who received 11 votes.

Gilani brings extensive experience from his tenure at Fifa, having worked on numerous football development projects across the region.

This election marks a significant milestone for Pakistani football. For over a decade, the PFF has remained mired in controversy, internal divisions, and repeated foreign intervention.

The Fifa has stepped in on multiple occasions, appointing three separate normalization committees to bring order to the federation. Years of instability, legal wrangling, and administrative limbo have left Pakistani football languishing on the sidelines of regional and international competition.

The successful election of a permanent governing body signals a transition toward more stable and autonomous leadership.

The new leadership faces considerable challenges, including revitalizing domestic football competitions, launching the long-delayed franchise-style league, and improving the performance of national teams. This comes at a crucial time, with qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 currently underway.

Earlier this month, the governing body postponed its Executive Committee elections, originally scheduled for May 20 due to regional tensions and unavoidable logistical challenges.

The announcement was made via a letter from Acting General Secretary Muhammad Shahid Niaz Khokhar to Congress members on May 14. The letter cited escalating tensions between Pakistan and India as a major disruption that affected the travel plans of key international observers from Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Their presence was deemed essential to ensure transparency and credibility in the electoral process. These circumstances also caused logistical and administrative difficulties in organizing the PFF Extraordinary Congress.