Mr Muhtasim Afridi is an intern at the Associated Press of Pakistan.
Pakistan has a large youth bulge which mostly consists of children and young adults. The UNDP report reveals that currently 64% of the nation is younger than 30, and 29% are between the ages of 15 and 29. The participation of these youngsters in sports and other recreational activities becomes a source of entertainment and economic development for the country. For instance, the cricket leagues played in different areas of Pakistan serve as a means of generating income through sponsors, merchandising, and other commercial activities such as tours and friendly matches.
Football, however, with its 3.5 billion fans around the world, has an ironic past in Pakistan dating back to the 20th century. The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), since its foundation in 1947, has seen many ups and downs in reviving this sport. The various factors such as political instability, corruption, lack of funds, and poor infrastructure hindered the progress and development of this game.
During the past few years, it has been observed that PFF is investing heavily in the players and the infrastructure. From basic facilities to international tours, the federation is doing its best to provide all the necessary equipment. This year, in February, the PFF Normalization Committee nominated 36 players for the men’s national football team training camp, which was primarily aimed at preparing a squad for the friendly matches against Maldives, Mauritius, Kenya, and Djibouti.
The federation has also made some major developments in the team by signing new players and coaches. To strengthen the squad, the PFF called back all the quality players (of Pakistani nationality) playing abroad to join the team. Players such as Otis Khan, Harun Hamid, Rahis Nabi, and Easah Suliman are no doubt professional footballers who play for foreign clubs as defenders, midfielders and wingers. The induction of such players helped other local players to learn advanced tactics and skills from them.
Moreover, signing a contract with Stephen Constantine, an English professional coach and former player, helped Pakistan achieve a historic victory against Cambodia in the second round of World Cup qualifiers. The victory led to emotional celebrations around the entire football community in Pakistan, as it was the first time in 75 years of history that the team qualified for the second stage of the competition.
Photo credits: Pakistan Cricket’s X account
In the second stage of the World Cup qualifiers, Pakistan competed with Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan, losing in both matches. However, it served as an opportunity for the national players to represent Pakistan at a higher level and gain further experience by competing with stronger players.
In the last decade, football has gained much importance all over Pakistan. In popular areas such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gilgit, Chitral and Islamabad, numerous football tournaments are being held throughout the year. The PFF is unquestionably making progress and the club managers, players and coaches at the local and departmental levels are also showing keen interest in developing this sport.
While we are witnessing a rapid change in the dynamics of this sport in Pakistan, there is still room for improvement. In talking to a private news channel, Haseeb Khan, the former under-19 captain, stressed, “Pakistan needs to introduce higher-level football leagues in the country, just like we have PSL, one of the famous cricket leagues in Asia.”
The establishment of advanced national leagues will not only help in recruiting quality players but will also attract better footballers and coaches from other countries. “PFF has the potential to fill the gap and it must plan it sooner for the betterment of the football community,” the former captain added.
Consequently, in recent years there have been positive developments in the state of football despite facing significant challenges such as poor infrastructure and lack of funds. With a chance of new players coming in, promoting football in Pakistan may provide an opportunity for the sponsors and investors to invest in various football clubs and training academies, hence boosting the economy at a higher level. It is remarkable to note that Pakistan is well-equipped with the working-age population. There is a lot of young talent in Pakistan – with little to more attention from the government, the country can become an epicenter of football in the whole of Asia.
If you want to submit your articles, research papers, and book reviews, please check the Submissions page.
The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
