Sindh FA president delighted over Naveed Akram and Mahmood Ali loan stint to Nepal. Speaks about players in past not being able to take up offers abroad.
Sindh FA President Syed Khadim Ali Shah expressed his delight over Pakistan WAPDA players Naveed Akram (Multan) and Mahmood Ali (Quetta) joining Nepalese side Saraswoti Youth Club on a two month loan to take part in the ongoing 2011 Nepal Martyr’s Memorial A-Division League campaign, thus becoming the first Pak footballers in many years to be able to take part in a foreign league.
Khadim Ali Shah, who is also Vice President of both PFF and SAFF, congratulated both Naveed and Mahmood for getting good offers from Nepal and hoped that such a step will also help give more Pakistani players the chance of playing abroad and learn the game worldwide. Khadim Ali Shah praised both the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) and WAPDA Sports Board for granting both players timely NOCs (No Objection Certificates) to allow their transfer to take place, stating that in past many players could not entertain solid offers from foreign clubs because of difficulty in obtaining clearance from the Federation and their respective departments.
He cited that players like Haroon Yousaf, Qazi Ashfaq, Sarfraz Rasool, Muhammad Essa, Muhammad Rasool etc all had offers to play in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and even Iran but could not avail their chances because of slow processing of paperwork at home.
After Ali Nawaz Baloch and Ghulam Sarwar taking part in UAE leagues during the 1970s, in 1995 two Lyari footballers Muhammad Yasin (HBL) and Tariq Umar (Pak Public Works Dept.) were taken on 3 month deals worth US$600 each to play for Bangladeshi side Victoria SC in the Dhaka Football League. However because of Tariq’s early injury in Bangladesh, he was forced to return home with a homesick Yasin also coming back prematurely from Victoria SC. As a result, no Bangladeshi side tried to get Pakistani players for many years afterwards.
Khadim Ali Shah hoped that Naveed Akram and Mahmood Ali going to Nepal will encourage the PFF and many department teams to support any player to entertain good offers to play abroad as they can be both financially rewarding as well as giving players a chance of seeing how football is played and loved around the world. He hoped that Naveed and Mahmood will help Saraswoti Club get a strong chance to qualify for Nepal National League round by finishing as the top 8 teams in the Martyr’s Memorial A-Division League.
