Ashfaq expects FIFA not to impose sanctions

KARACHI: Pakistan Football Federation's (PFF) president Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah has said that he expects a "good" decision about Pakistan's football from the FIFA Member Associations Committee which meets on April 3.

"I expect a good decision from them. I don't expect them to go for any tough decision without seeing the ground realities," Ashfaq told 'The News' in a detailed talk after the PFF Congress meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Ashfaq got elected as the PFF chief as a result of the Supreme Court-ordered elections held in December in Islamabad. The Ashfaq-led body then got control of the PFF headquarters in Lahore and accounts as per the apex court's instructions.

Ashfaq-led PFF is recognised by Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), but not by FIFA, which still recognises Faisal Saleh Hayat as the PFF chief. On April 3, FIFA Member Associations Committee will debate Pakistan's issue. Because of the conflict, Pakistan has already missed the 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship Qualifiers in Uzbekistan, which were held recently. This was the first stage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Qualifiers.

When asked whether he would request FIFA Member Associations Committee not to recommend sanctions on Pakistan, Ashfaq said: "There should be no sanctions. They should come and see the ground realities. They should meet the PFF Congress and see the situation in provinces and districts," Ashfaq said.

"If FIFA and AFC want us to visit there we are ready. We want them to know the exact situation on ground," the president said. He also said that they had registered a corruption case with the FIA which had summoned Faisal Saleh Hayat, his secretary Col Ahmad Yar Lodhi, Deputy General Secretary and Director Finance on March 28 (tomorrow).

About the MoU with the TouchSky Group, Ashfaq said he would not sign any agreement until the situation became clear. "I will not sign any agreement unless our situation becomes clear. It is important to clear everything hundred percent. Only then will we be in a position to sign a deal with any group," said Ashfaq, an engineer by profession.

He said that the PFF had decided with consensus that football activities would be started from April 10 throughout the country. "Let's call it inter-city events or events at the grassroots level. We have decided to go for football activities across the country," the president said.

He was quick to add that the PFF wanted to keep the players active. "In Ramadan we can also go for a floodlit event as we have facilities in Karachi, Islamabad and Multan," Ashfaq said.

He said that he would not want intervention from any cordon in Pakistan's football. He, however, added that the government could support the body. He said the National Challenge Cup had been delayed. "The National Challenge Cup was our priority but we decided to delay it for some time because of the tension between Pakistan and India. Armed forces are also part of the event and it is not the right time to go for organising such an event," Ashfaq said.

He said that on Tuesday the Congress meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. "Every one was free to speak and this is something very important if you want to develop a good team. The Congress debated 20 points and ratified the ExCo decisions which had been made a few days ago," Ashfaq said.