As Pakistan football prepares to turn a fresh page under newly-elected Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) president Mohsen Gilani, former national team captain Muhammad Essa has laid out a clear and urgent roadmap for rebuilding the sport from the ground up.
Speaking to Nukta, Muhammad Essa didn’t hold back in outlining what the new leadership must focus on to revive football in the country after a decade of chaos and decline. He urged the new PFF body to avoid revenge politics and instead concentrate on the bigger picture.
“The most important thing for the new PFF setup under Mohsen Gilani will be to ensure merit and transparency. If the right people are brought in for the right jobs, then implementing plans to ensure Pakistan’s football progress will not be difficult,” Muhammad Essa told Nukta.
According to Muhammad Essa, the journey to Pakistan’s football revival begins at home, starting with a functional domestic system and empowered provincial associations.
“In the first step, there is a need for a solid domestic structure and proper induction of federating units into the system. If football remains centralized and federating units, like in the past, have no say in football development, then the sport will not progress.”
On the competitive front, Muhammad Essa supports maintaining the Pakistan Premier League (PPL) while gradually developing a parallel professional league—rather than rushing to overhaul the domestic setup.
“Along with the Pakistan Premier League, there should be a professional league as well. Once we achieve success in the professional league, then we will have room to consider disbanding the Premier League.”
“If we have both leagues and a player gets 30 to 35 domestic matches, it will help the nation in international football.”
Muhammad Essa is not the first Pakistani footballer to highlight the lack of a professional domestic league, which is directly impacting the national team’s performance on the international stage.
The former captain’s words reflect both passion and experience and serve as a timely blueprint for Pakistan football at a pivotal moment. With elections behind them and public trust hanging in the balance, the new PFF setup would be wise to take note. The road for Mohsen Gilani to undo years of harm will be long, but the first steps need to be taken.