The Pakistan Football Federation on Wednesday said that no football league will be allowed by a private party. The only football league in the country will be held by the football federation itself. The statement came after the owner of PSL franchise Javed Afridi presented the idea of a PSL type football league to be held in Pakistan.
Secretary General of PFF, Manizeh Zainli said,
Recently various quarters have made statements in media and social media about running/starting franchise league or women’s league, Given that Pakistan Football Federation is the governing body of Football in Pakistan (as recognized by FIFA and AFC) any national league (franchise or otherwise) can only be hosted by the PFF. Therefore, no league can be conducted by any entity other than PFF.
Any unapproved leagues will have legal consequences according to PFF. “If any entity tries to conduct such a league, the same will be illegal and sanctions will follow,” the statement highlighted.
The statement came in after the following tweet by Javed Afridi:
Successfully conducted various Meetings with Global Football Entities including Brands, Players and Investment Groups to start a Franchise Model Football League in Pakistan. If You or Your Organisation can add Value to this in any manner please email at [email protected]
— Javed Afridi (@JAfridi10) July 9, 2020
While talking to a private news channel, Afridi said that he, at no point, tried to do it solely without the PFF’s consent. “Any such event will be done with PFF, I have already signed contracts with consultants to prepare the model for the league. It will be more financially viable than PSL,” he said.
“PSL is only for one month but with a football league, we plan to have activities throughout the year. Pakistani investors will surely come to invest money in football. Many brands don’t want to invest in cricket, they’re global football sponsors and they’ll surely invest in football. Cricket is just a commonwealth sport while football is played by 200+ countries,” he added.
According to Javed Afridi, he hopes to get the football league on track by next year and it will change the fortune football in the country.
