Coaches slam PFF for Licence B fee policy [The News]

Sports Correspondent – The News

KARACHI: The country’s football coaches who are desirous to do the Licence B course have strongly reacted to the policy of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) according to which the participants would have to deposit a sum of Rs25,000 each before they attend the course, which is to be held in Lahore.

“It’s sheer injustice with the coaches who want to improve their qualification,” a coach told ‘The News’ on Saturday.

Another coach said that there was no precedent anywhere of a federation charging its coaches for attending a Licence B course in their own country.

“You will not see this in any country of Asia. In some countries there is fee for attending Licence A course at home but you will find nowhere a federation charging fee for Licence B course at home,” he said.

When ‘The News’ asked PFF secretary Col Ahmed Yar Lodhi about this, he said they wanted to make them feel that it was something valuable. “We want them to take it seriously and I hope they will realise the importance of the course when they will pay for it,” Lodhi said.

He revealed that most probably the three-week course would be held in June and July in Lahore under the auspices of the PFF.

He said that all the relevant coaches, departments and provincial football associations had been informed through circulars about the course and its payment mechanism.

“We would like to provide opportunities to around 24 Licence-C coaches of the country,” said Lodhi.

Five Pakistani coaches are attending a Licence A course in Bahrain these days. Those coaches bore their air-fare expenditure themselves, but they are being helped by Pakistan’s Bahraini coach Mohammed Shamlan there.

There are 30 Licence B coaches in the country. Only four have A Licences.

Tariq Lutfi, Siddiq Sheikh, Shehzad Anwar and Nasir Ismail are the Licence A coaches.