By Mark Baber
July 2 – Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat was re-elected President of the Pakistani Football Federation (PFF) for a further four years at a meeting of the PFF congress held in Abbotabad’s Hotel Legrand.
Despite a campaign to unseat him, which reportedly included the taking out of a court order in a failed attempt to prevent the election going ahead, Hayat won 14 votes from the 23 members present at the Congress.
Women’s committee members Saadia Shaikh, Nadia Naqvi and Fauzia Naureen were also elected along with Rubina Irfan, Sardar Naveed Haider and Khadim Ali Shah as vice-presidents of the federation.
An eight-member executive committee was also elected unopposed.
With the goal to promote football and to keep politics of the federation, Hayat told local media: “We held the election because there was no court order issued to us. We continued with our plan and the AFC president and general secretary also congratulated me on the win. We don’t know what that court order was since it came out from the deputy attorney-general’s office, who was being a party to the opposing group anyway.”
On Monday, a Lahore Court order stated that PFF elections should not take place, but the elections were supervised by AFC director of member associations, Sanjeevan Balasingam, and any attempts to annul the election will undoubtedly meet stiff resistance from the PFF, AFC and FIFA, with the latter having the power to suspend the country from international football if there is “political interference” in the running of its affairs.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734852691labto1734852691ofdlr1734852691owedi1734852691sni@r1734852691ebab.1734852691kram1734852691
