KARACHI: FIFA has, once again, suspended the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) after PFF congress refused to adopt the changes recommended by the FIFA in PFF’s constitution.

According to an announcement by the FIFA, 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 fulfill 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,” said the statement.

The FIFA and AFC had recommended the PFF to bring amendments to its existing constitution. The proposed amendments were to be brought in clauses related to electoral process. However, the elected congress of PFF had rejected those amendments. This is not the first time the PFF has faced suspension. In April 2021, FIFA suspended the federation due to undue third-party interference, a violation of FIFA's statutes. That suspension was lifted in June 2022 after FIFA received confirmation that the PFF's Normalisation Committee had regained full control of the federation's premises and was managing its finances.

Despite these efforts, challenges have persisted. In recent months, FIFA has been pushing for constitutional amendments within the PFF to facilitate fair elections and proper governance. However, the PFF Congress has been reluctant to adopt these changes, leading to the current suspension. The suspension means that Pakistan's teams are barred from participating in international competitions until the issue is resolved and the PFF will not receive any assistance from the FIFA. Earlier today, PFF Normalisation Committee, Chairman Haroon Malik said that due to the deadlock between FIFA and PFF's newly elected congress, the international football association may "conditionally" suspend Pakistan. The chairman conveyed the development while briefing the National Assembly's standing committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC). He said that this will cause Pakistan to at least lose its international participation and stoppage of FIFA's financial support to the PFF.

"FIFA wants to make some amendments to the PFF Constitution to bring it in line with international standards. In the recent efforts, the majority of the newly-elected PFF Congress members have not agreed to FIFA’s proposals," Malik said.