Football hope

After Pakistan’s disastrous group stage exit in the ongoing 2025 ICC Champions Trophy last week, the nation was due some good news on the sporting scene. It has arrived in the form of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (Fifa), football/soccer’s global governing body, lifting the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)’s almost month-long suspension this past Sunday. The decision restores Pakistan’s eligibility to participate in international football activities and comes after the PFF Congress approved constitutional amendments required by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The refusal to make these changes earlier is what reportedly led to the suspension in the first place. This is not the first time Pakistan has faced a suspension at the hands of Fifa, facing the same punishment back in April 2021 due to undue third-party interference in violation of Fifa statutes. This suspension was eventually lifted in June 2022. The way has now been cleared for Pakistan’s football team to participate in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, with the country slated to face Syria on March 25, Myanmar on June 10 and Afghanistan later in October. It is hoped that the Asian Cup qualification will go better for Pakistan than last year’s World Cup qualification, which saw the team suffer four straight defeats.

However, while World Cup qualification might not have gone exactly to plan, the country did manage to reach the second round of the 2023 Olympic qualifiers for the first time in its history. This progress would not have been noticeable in many countries, but Pakistan has long been a bystander in most sports outside of cricket. In the 1980s and 90s, Pakistan was competing for world championships in professional hockey, squash and cricket. Those days are now long gone. Keeping up with the requirements of the various global governing bodies of different sports will be crucial to reviving the country’s sports scene. There need to be more avenues for the nation’s athletes to showcase their talents and bureaucratic hang-ups beyond their control should be the last thing holding them back. The shaky relationships with international sports bodies only compound the problems with Pakistan’s lack of a solid grassroots infrastructure to develop local athletes and the sports scene, depriving it of the international assistance and finance that is vital for sports in developing countries.

The PFF must now work to stay in Fifa’s good graces and ensure that the Pakistan football team continues to take part in international competitions. No one is expecting Pakistan to lift a major trophy anytime soon, but simply having a foot in the door is also important. This assures that Pakistan can get the funds needed to develop grassroots football and that athletes actually see a future for themselves in the sport and commit to it. It will also help keep Pakistani players on the radar of football clubs in other countries, potentially offering them the chance to play for more money abroad. The experience and contacts gained through such opportunities will ultimately benefit football back home, a pattern that we have seen in many Asian and African countries. For far too long it has been cricket or nothing in Pakistan. Developing the nation's football team can help us escape this dynamic.