PFF signs deal for Pakistan Football League

KARACHI: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has formally revealed that it has signed an agreement with the Global Soccer Ventures (GSV) which will organise a Pakistan Football League (PFL), the first-ever professional franchise-based league.

The PFF said in its press release on Tuesday that the PFF-GSV collaboration was much bigger than “just a franchise league.

“It will focus on developing a state of the art flagship stadium in Karachi, produce a ground-breaking international technical football collaboration with top clubs from Europe and design Pakistan’s first ever sensational domestic inter-city franchise league,” the PFF said.

“ . . . Pakistan has seen no development in football and this collaboration ensures funds are injected into Pakistan for the right reasons and for Pakistani football players so the nation can get its domestic football in order first,” it added.

“The PFF has placed players at the heart of everything. PFL will help rebuild football in Pakistan by developing a new generation of players. It is designed to create a new football ecosystem to place Pakistan’s players in top priority,” the PFF said.

PFF president Ashfaq Hussain Shah said that he wanted to see football in Pakistan recognised as a professional sport. “It is about time I take control to secure the future of Pakistan’s players. I want to save football and am proud to partner with GSV who have created a ground-breaking vision for Pakistan.

“It is my mission to make football recognised in Pakistan as a professional sport and give it the professional impetus to cultivate our national talent and help them compete at an international level on our own soil,” Ashfaq was quoted as saying.

GSV Group CEO and former K-Electric senior official Zabe Khan is behind the venture. “In Pakistan football is homeless and is like a neglected orphan for several decades. There is nothing stopping football being revived locally. Pakistan needs to rise and play. My strategy offers a tricon sports solution to Pakistan’s football through a blend of infrastructure, international collaboration and a sensational league,” Zabe said.

Mike Farnan, the Chief Operating Officer of GSV, said that Pakistan was a sleeping football giant with a lot of following of the global sport in the populous country. “Pakistan is a sleeping giant with a huge potential for football,” Mike said.

“At Manchester United International the globalisation strategy was to focus on emerging markets. I have decided to adopt the same approach for Pakistan by creating a new football landscape. It is a big challenge in a big nation,” Mike said.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that the league will carry six teams which will be named after cities on the pattern of Pakistan Super League (PSL). The league is expected to be staged next year after PSL. Six European Clubs will also be involved in providing technical support to the franchises which will be sold out by the organisers. The Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) and National Challenge Cup will serve as key sources for picking the players from for the professional league. The agreement between the PFF and the GSV is for 15 years.