February 7 – FIFA has suspended Pakistan from the global game “with immediate effect” after the federation rejected constitutional change.
In a statement on Thursday, FIFA wrote: “The PFF has been suspended with immediate effect due to its failure to adopt a revision of the PFF Constitution that would ensure truly fair and democratic elections and thereby fulfil its obligations as mandated by FIFA as part of the ongoing normalisation process of PFF.”
“The suspension will only be lifted subject to the PFF Congress approving the version of the PFF Constitution presented by FIFA and the AFC.”
Earlier this week, Haaron Malik, the chairman of the normalisation committee that FIFA introduced in 2019 in Pakistan, had warned in a letter to the congress of the PFF that Pakistan risked getting suspended if the federation did not accept amendments to the statutes that FIFA was seeking to push through.
He wrote: “FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation in the strongest terms have opined that while the congress members want to be part of the FIFA family, they do not wish to align with the spirit and principles of FIFA and the AFC, and the newly-elected congress members have created a deadlock. During numerous discussions, both virtual and physical, FIFA has been unwavering on the need for the constitutional amendments to align with the FIFA principles.”
The PFF Congress rejected a crucial amendment that centred around the presidential elections. The mandate of the current normalisation committee expires on February 15.
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