KARACHI: There might be a resolution to the crisis in Pakistani football, as FIFA’s appointed Normalization Committee has regained control of the headquarters of the Pakistan Football Federation – the FIFA House.
This action will also pave the way for FIFA to lift the suspension imposed on the Pakistan Football Federation last year.
Haroon Malik, the chairman of FIFA’s appointed Normalization Committee, announced on Twitter that the NC has regained control of Football House.
“Congratulations to the football family on the return of Football House. The FIFA NC recognises and lauds the contributions of Dr Fehmida Mirza in achieving this momentous milestone. We thank the entire football family for their support. It is now time to move forward together,” he said.
“I would personally express my gratitude to the members of the NC – Shahid Khokhar, Haris Azmat, and Saud Hashimi – for their steadfast and untiring efforts in the face of adversity. I am proud of you. To FIFA for their ongoing support and efforts, we are grateful,”
“Onwards! Get ready everyone – time for Kick-Off. ” Haroon wrote in a series of Tweets posted on Saturday morning.
The PFF office was taken over by Ashfaq Hussain and co. in March last year. The group won the court-ordered PFF elections in 2018 but was not recognized by FIFA.
The Ashfaq group had, however, vacated the office in November, but it was then taken over by the Punjab revenue department. The matter was resolved earlier last week after a series of meetings between football officials, the Punjab government and federal minister Fahmida Mirza.