Lahore (PR):Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) always held the federation and its affiliated units’ elections under the FIFA Statutes and this time too, all the FIFA rules and regulations are being strictly observed to make the elections fair and transparent.
Addressing the media during the press conference held here at the PFF Secretariat on Monday, PFF President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, flanked by general secretary Col. R. Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi, Director Development Pervaiz Saeed Mir, Director Col.r. Farasat Ali Shah, said this adding FIFA does not allow any interference of the third party in any of its associate members affairs.
“FIFA always has taken strict action against those associate members who were interfered by the third party especially by their Governments. Such associate members who had to face FIFA ban in this regard were Nigeria, Indonesia, Kuwait, etc. So we have to follow the FIFA rules strictly to make our elections fair and transparent,” Mr. Makhdoom Faisal added.
He further said that it is only the prerogative of the election commissioner to talk in detail about the PFF election as our prime objective of todays media briefing remains highlighting the worst act which was done by a Provincial Presidential candidate Ali Noor Niazi fully supported by a life banned person by FIFA Sulman Butt who claims to develop and promote football who invaded in the FIFA football house two days earlier with more or less hundred armed men.
“I ask them is this the way they plan to promote the global game of football in Pakistan”. They have destroyed the norms of this beautiful game, president PFF further added saying that it was due to the media people who fortunately reached in time otherwise god forbidden anything worst could happen.
The PFF President also disclosed some facts about former PFF secretary Hafiz Salman Butt as why he was banned for life by the FIFA. “The football governing body FIFA banned for life Hafiz Salman Butt due to huge embezzlement he did during his tenure as PFF Secretary which was proved by the FIFA committee formed to investigate the case. How can a person level allegations against others who himself has been proved corrupt by the highest international football body.”
Mr. Faisal said during his entire tenure as PFF president, he took all the decisions purely on merit and for the betterment and flourishment of the game and no incident of any misuse of power or money can be quoted. “If a single penny corruption is proved against me, I will resign as PFF president.”
Col. Ahmed Yar Lodhi the General Secretary PFF told the media about his personal experience when he was immensely pressurized by the DG Punjab Sports Board Mr. Usman Anwer who during a meeting at his office revealed that it has been decided by the Govt. to bring Capt. Safdar as the next president of the PFF and Ali Noor Niazi as the PFA president. The current set up of the federation must cooperate to make the dream of the government come true.
“I just told him what the FIFA and PFF statutes demand and if they want their candidates get elected, they have to follow the FIFA and PFF rules. On this, the DG pressurized me to go against the FIFA and PFF rules of election, which I have denied for which I was threatened to dire consequences. But being a representative of the football body of Pakistan, I can do only those things, which comes under FIFA rules and regulations.”
Pakistan national woman football player and women C-Licence Coaching Course participant Abeeha Haider has said the ugly act of Ali Haider Noor Niazi and his allies reminded us brutal act of terrorism at Peshawar Army Public School. Sharing their terrible experience happened at the PFF Secretariat where Ali Niazi and his allies occupied the PFF premises and harassed the women coaching course participants and U-14 players, Abeeha said: “This
hideous act scared us so much that it seemed a lot of strangers had invaded the PFF Secretariat and made everyone terrorized through abuses and invasion into our rooms and places specifically reserved for women.
This act reminds us the Peshawar incident where some cruel terrorists brutally killed innocent children at Peshawar School and here the Punjab Government-backed candidate for Punjab Football Association (PFA) Ali Noor Niazi tried to revise the same incident but thanks to media, who reached the spot in time and helped us get free from such wicked persons. It is our humble request to government that they must take strict action against those cruel persons and provide us justice.”
Raheela Zarmeen, who is assistant manager of the national women football team and also participant of women coaching course, also condemned this evil act of invaders who behaved with the women players very strangely and termed it against the sportsman spirit.
“I cannot express my feelings in words but I will only say this if such person, if God forbid takes over the helm of the affairs of the Pakistan football, its decline can be surely guaranteed. I would request to the high authorities of the country to keep such persons away from the game, which has already been moving on right direction and their interference can deprive the country of genuine and the game’s progress.” Concluding her experience she said that the situation was so violent that we started fearing our lives.
Pakistan National U-14 Team players were also staying at PFF house for their training camp when this incident took place A national U-14 player said that the incident had made him so scared that he could not complete training in a way he had been earlier doing as he felt those cruel persons could invade the PFF Secretariat once again. “So I want to request the government to either provide us foolproof security so that we may prepare well for the Under-14 AFC Championship so that we can serve the country by participating in the mega event.”
