FIFA, the world football governing body, said on Thursday that it had removed the suspension imposed on the Pakistan Football Federation for excessive third-party intervention. Pakistan was suspended in April 2021 due to a disagreement over a normalization committee set by FIFA to ensure compliance with its standards.
The Ashfaq Group, headed by Ashfaq Hussain Shah, took control of the football establishment and brought about the suspension. Shah was chosen as PFF president in the 2018 elections, which were approved by the Supreme Court but were not recognized by FIFA.
FIFA maintains that the hostile takeover, which constituted a significant infraction of its bylaws, was what led to its decision to suspend the PFF.
Following Hussain Shah’s brief removal of the normalization committee from the PFF headquarters, they suspended Pakistan. FIFA was only supposed to withdraw the ban once it had confirmation from the NC that the PFF had regained complete control over its facilities, finances, management, and communication routes.
Following confirmation from FIFA that the PFF’s normalization committee had regained full control of the PFF’s facilities and was able to manage its finances, the decision was made on Thursday, according to a statement from FIFA.
It also cautioned that Pakistan would experience another suspension if there was any unwarranted involvement in its internal affairs or if Pakistan took any steps that would prevent the normalization committee from carrying out its duty.
FIFA’s normalization committee will get closer to the election, according to the details. The Pakistani national football team is now eligible to play in international competitions, and various national-level football events will also resume.
Haroon Malik, the chairman of the Normalization Committee, congratulated the entire country on the breakthrough and said his team had worked hard to lift the ban that had affected both football players and fans in the nation.
Due to the FIFA ban lift, Pakistani football activities will soon start up again after a year or more. Due to the normalization committee’s capacity to coordinate all football-related activities nationwide, the Pakistani national team’s participation in international tournaments and other friendly games is now possible.
