According to various reports, as many as 40-45 fake football clubs in Balochistan have allegedly registered through the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) FIFA Connect program which has put the upcoming PFF elections in disrepute.
On this matter, a notable PFF Normalization Committee (NC) official said, “If any such thing is happening the clubs have the option to file cases in the Appeal or Disciplinary Committee.”
Football clubs in Pakistan that have registered on the Pakistan Football Connect Program Website can file cases against fake clubs that have been issued FIFA IDs in the Disciplinary Committee.
The clubs that had registered themselves in the Football Connect program had been asked to submit bank account details with the PFF NC.
According to a football stakeholder in Balochistan, Haji Saeed, banks are not allowed by the government or the state to open bank accounts for the clubs and this is one of the main hindrances in the submission of documents to NC.
He further informed the NC about the fake clubs and stated, “When scrutiny started and I saw the process I reported to NC that there are 40 to 45 such clubs who are bringing players from various parts just for getting voting rights. I told NC that even the well-established clubs can confirm that.”
Haji Saeed also expressed concern that new football clubs especially in Balochistan are only joining the football connect so that they can cast votes and influence the PFF elections in March and after the elections are completed the clubs will vanish from the scene which will deteriorate the quality of elections and rigging will be inevitable with this approach.
“I am in favor of new club registration but I am not in favor of giving voting rights to the new clubs” Saeed added further.
Meanwhile, the official of the PFF NC informed that the scrutiny of clubs has been completed in 110 districts out of 143 and the rest of the districts will undergo scrutiny after the general elections. Once the scrutiny process resumes, the district football elections will be held within 15 days.
The PFF elections will be conducted according to the constitution of 2014, which was constructed by then-PFF President Faisal Saleh Hayat.
Regarding the voting rights of new clubs, the PFF official said “The elections will be held as per the constitution, and clubs that fulfill the criteria outlined in the statutes will be eligible to participate in the voting process.”
Pakistan Football Federation has been directed by FIFA to conduct the PFF elections by March 15, the international footballing body has halted the funds to PFF since 11 May 2023.