FIFA has officially lifted the suspension on the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) after the necessary constitutional amendments were made to ensure proper governance of the sport in the country. The global body had imposed the suspension on February 5 due to the failure of PFF Congress members to amend the constitution as required. However, last Thursday, a consensus was reached among PFF Congress members to implement the required changes. FIFA confirmed the lifting of the suspension on Sunday.
Since June 2019, Pakistan’s football has been under the governance of a FIFA-appointed normalisation committee tasked with resolving leadership disputes and conducting elections. Despite several leadership changes within the committee over the past five years, key issues in Pakistan football remained unresolved.
A senior official from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) visited Lahore last week to urge Congress members to adopt the necessary constitutional amendments. With the amendments now in place, FIFA has lifted the suspension, allowing Pakistan to participate in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. The national team is set to face Syria in their Group ‘E’ opener on March 25.
