Pakistan withdraw from SAFF U20 Championship [Geo Super]

Pakistan withdraw from SAFF U20 Championship [Geo Super]

by Faizan Lakhani

KARACHI: Due to a lack of funds, the Pakistan Football Federation’s (PFF) Normalisation Committee has caused young Pakistani footballers to miss another important event, Geo News reported on Thursday.

The Pakistan team has withdrawn from the upcoming SAFF U20 Football Championship to be held in Nepal.

The Championship is scheduled to take place from 18-28 August in Kathmandu, for which the Pakistan football team was awaiting FIFA funding.

When no response was received from FIFA, PFF informed the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) that they were withdrawing from the event. Consequently, new draws for the SAFF Under-20 Championship have been issued.

A senior official from the PFF confirmed to Geo News that they withdrew from the event due to a lack of funds. The official stated that the PFF had written to FIFA in May for funds to participate in three events – the SAFF U17, the SAFF U20, and the SAFF Women’s Championship.

However, FIFA did not respond. The official added that if funds are not provided, it will be difficult to participate in the SAFF Under-17 and Women’s Championships as well.

Sources indicate that the PFF requires approximately $200,000 per event. Football circles suggest that instead of relying on FIFA funding, the PFF could secure this amount through sponsors.

On the other hand, sources mention that by hosting the recent FIFA Qualifier matches, the PFF generated an income of over Rs. 10 million from various avenues.

Meanwhile, Pakistan football stakeholders has urged the PFF Normalisation Committee to avoid engaging companies relating to men’s and women’s football and futsal leagues and instead prioritise elections.

The stakeholders said that NC’s mandate will expire on December 15. They said that it should focus on completing the elections instead of taking interest in engaging companies for leagues which it cannot hold due to shortage of time.

They said that it is the right of the new elected body which must deal with such matters. A former PFF official Naveed Haider said that it is not the mandate of NC to do such things.

Published in Geo Super, 11 July 2024