Pakistan is a curious case, in the world of football, ever since it became a member association of the world-renowned football body FIFA. It has never had a substantial and professional league. Football connoisseurs believe that a league with a departmental football structure can never flourish and the Pakistan Premier League since its inception in 2004 has been inculcated with multiple departments which has killed the true essence of football.
Uncovering the Flop Idea of Pakistan Premier League by PFF
World football does not work like that, no league in the world has 8 departments and 4 amateur clubs, like the Pakistan Premier League had in 2021, which eventually never had a valid status in the eyes of FIFA, as it was organized by the then elected PFF President, Ashfaq Hussain Shah who came into power through the PFF elections conducted by the Supreme Court.
That is essentially third-party interference in the matters of the PFF and FIFA does not allow that, it was one of the main reasons that FIFA imposed a ban on Pakistan and appointed the Normalization Committee under Haroon Malik.
In Iraq, we have seen departments such as the Iraq Airforce known as “Al Quwa Al Jawiya FC’. Nepal has three departments in its A league as well. Meanwhile, Japan has converted its departments into Football Clubs by completing the mandatory requirements of FIFA and AFC, many departments in Japan changed their names so that they can become football clubs.
Sri Lanka is the only league in South Asia which has a departmental football league like Pakistan, they are currently ranked 202 in the FIFA World Rankings. Here a question arises will the armed forces of Pakistan who have respected football departments, ever change their names and meet the essential FIFA requirements to become an AFC-licensed club?
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It is very feasible to say that Baloch clubs like Baloch Nushki, Afghan Chaman FC, and Muslim Chaman FC don’t deserve to play in the SAFF Club Championship but here the question arises what have the departments done for the country except help Faisal Saleh Hayat (Former PFF President) coming back into power again and again.
The country has tried and tested the departmental football system and it has not worked, it cannot attract sponsorships nor TV Rights/eyeballs on mainstream media. The setup is not viable enough.
Political Instability: A big hurdle for the rise of Departmental Football
In 2014 Faisal Saleh Hayat changed the constitution and he made the football departments a tool so that could win the elections in every four-year cycle. 8 departments were supposed to vote for him which were already playing in the Pakistan Premier League. These are 8 votes out of 26 congress members in the electoral college.
The Football Departments of Pakistan do not produce players nor do they help in the development of footballers, they do not produce players who can serve the national team. For instance, Rajab Ali Hazara was developed by Baloch Quetta FC and then KRL signed him as a ready-made product. Omer Rao Hayat used to play for Lyallpur FC and was then signed by WAPDA.
Departmental football only safeguards a certain politician in Pakistan, who becomes PFF President every four years and that politician gets protection from the establishment. In this case, the establishment lies under the mask of departmental football teams. It’s your choice who you stand within this debate, do you believe in empowering the clubs or the football departments who have only served the elites, politicians and the establishment of this country??
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