Since the start of January we have seen local footballers in Pakistan transfer to multiple South Asian leagues with seven local players travelling to the Bangladesh Football League (BFL), while two players have recently booked their flights for the Bhutan League.
But the question arises as to why the exposure of these leagues is so important for local Pakistani players?
Pakistan is a country where no domestic league has been held since 2021, the league saw an abrupt halt due to the attack on Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) by political entities in the country, which in itself is a dark chapter in Pakistan’s footballing history, requiring a separate article to understand why the country never developed a proper domestic league in 79 years.
To prevent their abilities from decaying, Players like Shayek Dost, Rao Umer Hayat, Abdullah Shah, Hayyan Khattak, Alamgir Ghazi, Ali Uzair, and Usman Khan left Pakistan to seek competitive minutes under their belt, knowing fully well that only a professional league system can provide that.
Lack of Domestic Fixtures and Ecosystem
Pakistan football has lacked a domestic eco system for years. A player like Suha Hirani in the Pakistan women’s national team only played 3 local tournament matches throughout 2025, and she only got international exposure when Karachi City played the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) women’s club championship in December last year.
Men’s team players are only dependent on international fixtures and local tournaments like the Peshawar Premier League, Balochistan Gold Cup, and Chitral Premier League that take place throughout the year. However, these tournaments last for only 2-3 weeks, barely contributing to the players development.
On the contrary, the Pakistani local players will get 9 competitive league matches alongside foreign players in the Bangladesh Federation cup from February to May, which keeps the players engaged in continuous training for three months. Mohib Ullah Afridi and Mamoon Musa Khan will get exposure to the Bhutan Premier League, where they will play 18 league matches from May to November.
From September to May the BFL provides pivotal growth and development for Pakistan’s local players over a span of 8 months with players who transferred to the Bangladesh league in January already showing signs of improvement in terms of their stamina, physical fitness, strength, and conditioning, as well as passing and off-the-ball movement.
They look sharper, showcasing improved spatial awareness and telepathic communication during their gameplay, especially those who were playing together in the Brothers Union Football Club. A league like this is a basic necessity for any local player, and Pakistan has failed to provide such a system over the last decade.
Pakistan’s Lack of Professional Training Regime
There are very few clubs in Pakistan that guarantee professional training regimes, and even they fail to meet the standards of International football.
Most clubs lack basic facilities and knowledge of how to train a player; on top of that, there is no exposure to domestic competitive fixtures for the player.
In Bangladesh and Bhutan, the leagues provide the basic training regime to keep the players in rhythm. For instance, this is how a player trains on a weekly basis in South Asian leagues.
Monday: (Recovery and Physiotherapy)
Recovery and physiotherapy sessions take place where players work on their mobility through exercises like cycling and swimming.
Tuesday: (Technical and Strength Training)
Focus is on technical skill development and gym sessions, which often target a player’s core strength, stamina, and plyometrics on an occasional basis.
Wednesday: (High Performance Intensity Training)
This is a training day where players focus on speed and explosiveness. It also includes tactical team training on and off the ball.
Thursday: (Tactical Training)
Coaches try to train the players tactically on how to maintain the shape off the ball and how to defend, as well as exploit set pieces. This is high in intensity, but the training drills are shorter.
Friday: (Match Preparation and Tapering)
Players and coaches focus on light training that enhances sharpness and speed of movement. Coaches also focus on preparing the players mentally for a high-pressure game.
Saturday and Sunday: (Match Day and Recovery)
Saturday is matchday, and Sunday is a day dedicated to recovery sessions, often including stretching, foam rolling, and ice bath.
Number of League Matches and the Gap Between Matches
Bangladesh currently has 10 teams in its league, so each club plays 18 matches in the league season, but they often have a two-month break from January to the first week of March in mid-season.
A similar 5-day gap between matches of the league season could be ideal if Pakistan ever starts its own league. The number of matches is not important here, but qualitative and competitive matches sure are.
For instance, in the 2018-19 Pakistan Premier League season, each club/department played 26 matches, taking place within the space of three months. This cramped schedule meant that every club/department only got 2-3 days for recovery, resulting in serious injuries to players, such as ruptured ACL, Achilles, and meniscus injuries.
The season was divided into three legs during the 2018-19 season. The Multan leg was held in the Qila Kohna Qasim Bagh Stadium, from late September to early October.
The Lahore leg took place in the Punjab Athletic Stadium, also known as ‘The Ian Rush Stadium.’ That leg was held from late October till November.
While the last leg that season was held from December 2018 to January 2019 in the KPT Stadium in Karachi.
PFF never held the league continuously that season, rather it was held in patches with each leg taking place over the course of two weeks.
This resulted in players playing a minimum of 8-9 matches over the span of two weeks in each leg of the season and so the massive injuries were inevitable that ended some of the player’s careers.
Systematic training and number of competitive matches is the only way forward so players can be developed technically, physically and tactically in Pakistan. Hence a three-month league in patches can never be the solution.
The minimum number of matches in the league should range from 22 to 30 and the league should be held in Pakistan over the course of six months every year.
The National Challenge Cup should be extended over the span of two months, so that the players can eventually be engaged in competitive fixtures for minimum 8 months over the calendar year.
This kind of domestic structure can meet the requirements of the AFC standards as well and can help benefit players in long term development.
This kind of training regime is lacking in most clubs in Pakistan because the ecosystem is absolutely barren. Most players in Pakistan don’t train for 2-3 months, which reflects on the National team’s FIFA ranking as well.
The only hope for Pakistan is a league system that enables clubs with these types of basic training regimes and structural reform, which is not possible without a (bottom-to-top) pyramid system league.
Sri Lanka is a great example of a bottom-to-top pyramid system league, as they started the Sri Lanka Champions League in November 2025, which is the second tier of the country.
It is expected that the Sri Lankan top-tier league, known as the Sri Lanka Super League, will start in May.
Pakistan has not won a single match in international football since its historic victory against Cambodia in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers three years ago, and that will only change if the country sends its local players abroad in competitive leagues to develop.
The nation has to realize that training camps and friendlies will not be enough to help Pakistan grow in football; eventually, the PFF will need to start youth leagues at the club level in every single province, where young players at least get a minimum of 15 matches in a league season.
That is a structural reform that is a necessity and a long-term route towards growth and development as a footballing nation in South Asia.
The inclusion of diaspora players is always welcome but Pakistan must soon think about developing local players as well and if the federation cannot do it on its own soil than they must think about the south Asian leagues abroad that can give conducive environment and facilities to the players.
Pakistan must act fast, as the time is ticking with other South Asian nations like Bangladesh growing rapidly with the influx of overseas players.
Author: Shayan Obaid Alexander
Shayan Obaid Alexander is a football analyst and YouTuber behind the channel Enthusiastic Commentator. He has worked for ProPakistani, Urdu Times, Roze TV, and the English-language newspaper Patriot.
