Pakistan Football Federation’s Chief Operating Officer Shahid Niaz Khokhar has revealed that both FIFA president Gianni Infantino and AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa pledged their full support to Pakistan football on the sidelines of the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, while underlining that the stability of the PFF structure remains the foundation on which that support rests.
Mr Khokhar was speaking to the media in Lahore following the return of a three-member PFF delegation that concluded 15 bilateral meetings in Vancouver under the leadership of PFF president Syed Mohsen Gilani.
“The message from the top of world football is very clear: Every form of support is available to Pakistan. But what the international football community does not want to see is instability. Pakistan’s football structure has come a long way. It is our responsibility to ensure it remains stable, durable and protected from any adventure that could set us back.”
Mr Khokhar described the Vancouver engagements as a historic first for Pakistani football, a characterisation echoed by PFF vice-president Hafiz Zakaullah, who said the scale and quality of bilateral meetings at a FIFA Congress was without precedent in the federation’s history. The credit, both officials agreed, belongs to PFF President Syed Mohsen Gilani.
Among the most significant outcomes of the trip, Mr Khokhar highlighted a meeting with FIFA’s Chief Development Officer regarding the establishment of an international-standard football academy in Pakistan.
“This is something that changes the equation entirely. An academy of international standard on Pakistani soil means our coaches can train properly, our referees can be educated to global benchmarks and our players have a structured pathway from grassroots to the highest level. This is the infrastructure we have never had. And this is exactly what President Gilani’s vision is about.”
The delegation held talks with officials from Germany, Canada, China, Tajikistan, Indonesia, Turkey, Australia, Azerbaijan, Thailand, Guyana, Namibia, Barbados, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Zimbabwe, with coach education, referee development, youth football, women’s football and futsal emerging as consistent themes across the engagements.
Mr Khokhar noted that Pakistan’s international standing as a peace-making nation was a factor in virtually every conversation.
“In almost every meeting, our counterparts highlighted Pakistan’s soft image in the world. That goodwill is an asset and it translated directly into the seriousness and warmth with which every federation engaged with us.”
Saudi Arabia offered comprehensive support across all areas of football development. Canada, Mr Khokhar noted, exceeded expectations entirely.
“Canada’s generosity genuinely surprised us. The level of support they offered, across every area we wished to engage, was beyond what we had anticipated.”
That diplomatic goodwill was also backed by results on the pitch, with Pakistan’s youth side defeating Guam 11-0 and the women’s national team claiming an 8-0 victory in their first-ever FIFA Series appearance, performances that gave the delegation tangible evidence of a federation delivering not just diplomatically but competitively.
While Vancouver laid the groundwork at the international level, the federation simultaneously signalled that the domestic architecture is being built from the ground up.
PFF Executive Committee member Raja Amir announced that the PFF will be launching a National Club Championship, beginning at district level and progressing through provincial and national stages. The initiative is designed to give clubs a genuine identity and a competitive pathway from the grassroots upward, establishing the club culture that Pakistani football has long needed but never had the structural conditions to develop.
Punjab Football Association president Naveed Lodhi added that the province is already moving in lockstep with the federation, with referee and coaching courses underway at district and school level across Punjab. Mr Lodhi noted that for the first time, the federation and the provinces are operating as a single unified system rather than parallel structures working in isolation.
PFF vice-president Hafiz Zakaullah reflected on the reception the delegation received in Vancouver.
“What struck me most was the warmth. Every federation we met received us with genuine openness and a real desire to support Pakistan football. That warmth is something we are deeply grateful for and something we will honour by making sure these relationships produce real outcomes for our players, our coaches and our game.”
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