LAHORE: International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has asserted that they are giving due importance to develop Pakistan football.
‘FIFA is committed to develop football in a well-known South Asian country and it will work hard towards its commitment’, said FIFA President Sepp Blatter in a detailed meeting with President Pakistan Football Federation Faisal Saleh Hayat.
‘Pakistan has a huge population and football there needs to be developed; there is enormous potential. We need a clear plan.
‘FIFA has many excellent development and education programmes and we need similar programmes in Pakistan which complement all that work. We need a clear vision on how we develop the game in this country.
We will leave no stone unturned to give all out support to PFF which is already moving with positive sign,’ he added.
FIFA Chief during his 30-minutes meeting with PFF Chief,in United Arab Emirates, discussed a road map for the development of Pakistan football during 6th FIFA World Club Cup final at the Abu Dhabi’s Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on December 19 that saw UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona overcoming Copa Libertadores winners Estudiantes 2-1.
Faisal Saleh Hayat, also AFC disciplinary Committee Chairman, attended the final on the invitation from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Mohammed bin Hammam and United Arab Emirates Football Association President Mohamed Al-Rumaithi.
‘There are lots of plans to bring Pakistan football up to the standard to be expected of a nation considered to be the sixth most populated country in the world. They are all a long way from fruition, but do not think Pakistan is lost to football just yet,’ Blatter.
‘Football will be restructured at the grassroots level,’ Blatter says. ‘I hope Vision Asia Project will change the fortune of football in Pakistan.’ Blatter said it is his desire and one of his life-time wishes to visit Pakistan. ‘I tried my best to land in this beautiful nation but security concerns always obstructed me.’
He added that Football for Hope projects will become part of Pakistan in future as PFF is in full swing under the dynamic leadership of Faisal Saleh Hayat.
FIFA to support football in Pakistan: Blatter
‘I extend to you (Faisal) my heartfelt appreciation for your untiring and steady efforts to lift football from scratch.’
Football for Hope programme, whose inclusion has been ratified by the FIFA Committee for Fair Play and Social Responsibility, will take Football for Hope to a whole new dimension.
The movement already uses the power of football to support more Football in Pakistan from 2006-2009 via concrete, sustainable projects.
Blatter added: ‘FIFA takes its social responsibility very seriously as part of its aim to build a better future. That is why we have declared Football for Hope to be a movement and an activity of strategic importance and we are proud that we are now in a position to support more organisations in their work,’ said Blatter. -APP