ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) has called for a stronger grassroots football programme and better coordination between the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) and provincial sports authorities, saying the country’s young talent must be identified and developed at the local level.
The committee, chaired by Sheikh Aftab Ahmed, also directed PFF President Mohsin Gilani to personally attend its next meeting after members questioned the level of coordination between the federation and the provinces.
The meeting focused on the state of football development, the availability of sports facilities and the role of provincial governments in nurturing young athletes.
Committee member Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto stressed the need to expand football beyond established centres and into communities where young players could be identified.
“We have to promote football in Pakistan. If we do not promote our football, where will the youth come from who will go on to make Pakistan proud?” she said, according to the briefing provided to the committee.
Bhutto said greater attention needed to be given to football at the grassroots level, while lawmakers also sought assurances that the PFF was maintaining regular contact with provincial sports departments.
PFF President Mohsin Gilani, who joined the meeting remotely from Bishkek, said he was in Kyrgyzstan for the Nomad Games and that the opening ceremony was due to take place on the day of the committee meeting.
He said Pakistan had made progress in developing young coaches, with about 400 new young trainers produced during the year.
Gilani also highlighted the development of Pakistan’s youth and women’s football programmes, saying the under-17 side had achieved a significant result and that the women’s national team was performing well.
He said the federation was working to further improve the women’s team and had brought in foreign coaches as part of its development efforts.
“Club development needs to be done,” Gilani told the committee, while outlining efforts to focus more heavily on new talent.
He said the PFF was also developing international links, with coordination under way with football authorities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Baku.
Gilani said the federation had, for the first time, registered on a FIFA digital platform, which he described as another step towards modernising the country’s football administration.
The discussion, however, exposed gaps between the national federation and provincial sports authorities.
Bhutto asked provincial representatives to clarify whether they were coordinating with the PFF. The representative of Gilgit-Baltistan’s sports department said there was no coordination with the federation “as far as football is concerned”.
PFF Chief Operating Officer Mohammad Shahid acknowledged that coordination was not at the level it should be.
“The coordination that should have been there was not there. We accept that,” Shahid told the committee, assuring members that the federation would work to ensure that complaints about coordination did not recur.
Bhutto subsequently called for Gilani himself to attend the committee’s next session rather than relying on representatives.
The committee directed that the PFF president must attend the next meeting.
Members also questioned the relationship between the PFF and the Pakistan Sports Board, including whether the federation received government financial support.
Pakistan Sports Board Director General Yasir Hussain told the committee that the federation was self-sufficient and had not received grants or other funding from the board for the past ten to 15 years.
The meeting also produced a major offer from Balochistan.
Balochistan lawmaker Khushhal Khan Kakar said he was prepared to provide between 100 and 1,000 kanals of land free of cost for the construction of a sports complex in the province.
The offer could provide a substantial opportunity to expand sports infrastructure in a province where lawmakers have repeatedly called for greater investment in facilities and youth development.
Earlier in the meeting, concerns were also raised over the participation of Balochistan’s sports secretary. When Bhutto questioned the official’s absence, she was told that he was attending the proceedings through Zoom.
Senator Sardar Yaqub Khan Nasir also questioned the province’s representation and its engagement with the national football structure, asking who represented Balochistan in the relevant football arrangements.
The committee was subsequently briefed by directors general of sports from all four provinces, as well as Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, on sporting activities and facilities in their respective regions.