While the development of football in Pakistan has been in jeopardy for nearly a decade due to institutional mismanagement, lack of proper infrastructure, absence of a domestic league and continuous bans and suspensions. Bilal Mumtaz (Chairman, DFA Lower Chitral) highlights how Chitral is silently working to develop players.
Chitral: A district quietly working for development of Football in Pakistan
While the federation is facing financial issues and remains unable to organise a domestic competition, the District Football Association of Lower Chitral is actively working and organising competitions to keep players engaged and involved.
“There is no officially sanctioned ‘league’ supported by the DFA Lower Chitral and the District Sports Office. There are a multitude of different private leagues, such as the Chitral Premier League organised by DFA Lower Chitral,” said Bilal.
“An ex Manchester United coach was invited to Chitral to coach kids in Drosh and Balach (Mark Cox) who coached CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo) , Scott McTominay, Marcus Rashford.”
A district cup was organised by the DFA Lower Chitral in 2025, featuring a number of teams from the region. Zang Bazar won the tournament, marking their 18th district title.
Alongside district cups, three mega leagues run in Chitral (group and knockout formats), including the Chitral Premier League, Chitral Football League, and Chitral Super League.
“I was also the first and currently the only one to hold Youth Championships, with the March 23rd U12/U10 one-day tournament, the Nadeem Ahmed Mumtaz Memorial U16/U14/U12 Championships, and separate U12/U10 Championships. Alongside these, other youth tournaments also take place, including the Chitral Youth Football League,” said Bilal.
He also praised President Hussain Ahmed and his team, who have been successful in organising around 30 tournaments across Chitral every year.
League: The only path for development of Football in Pakistan
He stressed the need for a domestic league in the country, which he describes as a “hybrid merit-based national competition system.” This system would include district championships held in all districts, followed by a province-wide knockout competition, where the top teams from each district would play against one another. The top four teams from each province and 4 from ISB would then compete in a national league.
The estimated number of teams in the national league would be 28, divided into two conferences (North and South).
“Conference league winners get a trophy. Overall winners get a trophy. Conference playoffs then ensue with top 8 doing playoff style (best of 5 or 7) till final,” said Bilal
Also read: Harun Hamid: Pakistan Football’s Beacon – An Exclusive Glimpse into His Journey
Consequently, the winners would earn AFC competition spots.
Regarding departments, he suggested:
“I feel that departmental clubs should stick to having the PFF National Championships, and this national league should only be focused on registered FIFA Football Connect clubs that are endemic to the regions they represent.”
The development of Football in Pakistan
Youth football has different levels with different requirements. To develop youth in the country, it’s essential to organize inter youth competitions to provide them with competitive matches.
“Youth Football can be developed through recognising that there are many different levels of youth starting from the age of 7, going to the age of 16. Each echelon has different requirements (different FIFA Ball sizes (3/4/5) and different pitch requirements. Through this easement and gradual development of players, they can start registering more academies en masse and have different inter-youth competitions to encourage competitiveness.”
Additionally, he appreciated the men’s U17 team, which defeated higher-ranked teams in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers despite having limited facilities. He stated that these players should be transferred to leagues abroad so they can gain valuable experience and exposure.
Also Read: A surprise bidder emerges for Pakistan football league
Women’s Football
He also appreciated the women’s national team, which defeated higher-ranked teams such as Indonesia during their AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign, highlighting the excellent work done by head coach Adeel Rizki.
He highlighted that in some areas of Pakistan, women are not allowed to express their intent to play football as the societal norms do not allow women to excel, but it is important to acknowledge these areas where women can take up football as their livelihood
He further expressed that scholarships to football universities abroad would allow female players to bridge the gap between local and diaspora players.
“Scholarships to top soccer/footballing universities for our women are a great bridge between local and diaspora players to go even further,” said Bilal.
Interesting to read:
