Pakistan’s international soccer players are entering another period of uncertainty as their football federation faces a third suspension from FIFA in under eight years. This comes just a month before the men’s national team was set to embark on their qualification journey for the 2027 Asian Cup.
FIFA made the announcement regarding the ban after the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Congress voted against constitutional changes that had been advised by both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on January 25. Similar suspensions occurred in 2017 and 2021, with previous bans lasting for five months and 14 months, respectively.
“The situation is not surprising anymore; there’s an ongoing power struggle within Pakistani football, with individuals prioritizing their own agendas over the game itself,” commented international player Navid Rahman. “FIFA and the AFC must share some responsibility for this recurring issue, which should have been resolved by now.”
The earlier bans in 2017 and 2021 were attributed to third-party interference in the management of the PFF. In 2019, FIFA took steps by appointing a Normalization Committee to oversee Pakistani soccer and facilitate the organization of PFF elections. However, elections have yet to take place, leaving the committee still operational.
On the field, there has been little progress, as Pakistan has not had a national league since 2019 and hasn’t hosted any national team matches domestically since 2015. This drought ended in 2023 when Pakistan secured a victory against Cambodia in Islamabad, marking their first advancement to the second round of World Cup qualification in history. This resulted in six additional international fixtures and sparked some hope for the future.
