PFL: a hope for football in Pakistan

When it was announced that football legend and Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen would be the ambassador of a major football league project in Pakistan, an abundance of excitement could be seen among our youth.

A country with over 40 million of its citizens following football had always dreamt of such a big project. Now, with the bright minds behind the ‘Pakistan Football League’, dreams are soon to become reality. It has certainly raised our expectations into thinking maybe there is hope for football in Pakistan and maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Pakistan undeniably has plenty of talent with potential to do wonders. What we lack are initiatives to provide the opportunity for our youth to showcase these skills. In the recent Olympic games, we got a glimpse of our talent with weightlifter Talha Talib and javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem getting so close to winning medals, despite minimal training facilities. It can be said without hesitance that if we provide our stars the facilities to train with, they will certainly make us proud at international levels.

Zidane Iqbal, a talented teenager who happens to be half-Pakistani, became the first South Asian to make an appearance for Manchester United in the champions league during their game against Young Boys. This was a proud moment for the whole South Asian community, as we finally saw one of us at the big stage.

The PFL’s vision is to talent-hunt across all regions of the country and their strategic alliance with a world class scouting platform provides an opportunity for the first time to export talent out of the country. They have partnered with Global Soccer Ventures, a company that aims not only to popularise football in Pakistan, but also Pakistan in the football world.

With persistent efforts of PFL, duly supported by the government, we can hope to see dozens of Zidane Iqbals in the top leagues of Europe.

The outstanding success of the Pakistan Super League in cricket can be taken as an example of the potential which exists for such projects. Although PSL initially began with matches being played outside the country, it now hosts all the matches within Pakistan, giving fans the opportunity to physically see their favourite players go head-to-head.

The Pakistan Football League is a project which we should all be excited about. Opportunities like this do not come very often and we should encourage our talented youth to take part in this and demonstrate their skills. This could be the beginning of Pakistan’s journey into reclaiming their FIFA membership and establishing a name in the football world. And as Michael Owen said, Football Hoga.