KARACHI: Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation have stressed the need for the Pakistan Football Association to review its constitution and bring it in line with international governance standards, warning that third-party interference in the association’s affairs will not be tolerated.
The message was delivered during the first day of the Governance and Statutes Revision Workshop held on Sunday, where Fifa’s Head of Member Associations Governance, Rolf Tanner, and AFC Development Officer Sonam Jigmi addressed members of the PFF Congress.
The workshop is part of efforts to update the PFF constitution, which was last comprehensively revised in 2014. While some changes were introduced ahead of last year’s PFF elections conducted under the FIFA-appointed Normalization Committee, Fifa and the AFC believe a wider review is now necessary.
Addressing the participants, Tanner stressed the importance of good governance and highlighted the need for a clear separation of powers between the federation’s legislative, executive and judicial bodies.
“The separation of powers ensures a system of checks and balances that reduces the risk of corruption,” Tanner said.
The workshop also focused on key governance principles, including avoiding conflicts of interest, promoting gender equality and ensuring competence in football administration.
Tanner described the revision of the PFF constitution as an urgent demand made by Fifa and the AFC to ensure long-term stability in Pakistan football.
“Fifa and the AFC had directed a review of the PFF constitution a year after the election and this workshop is a step towards ensuring that it happens very soon,” he said.
PFF President Syed Mohsen Gilani welcomed the reform process and acknowledged that constitutional amendments had been delayed for too long.
“The revision of the statutes has been pending for a decade, while other federations have advanced light years, so we need to ensure that it happens now,” Gilani said.
Tanner also linked stronger governance to improved sporting performance, arguing that administrative stability is essential for football development.
“You’re not going to make progress on a sporting level with an archaic association, so it’s important because at the end of the day our motivation should be for football to be developed and played,” he said.
Meanwhile, AFC’s Sonam Jigmi assured the participants that the constitutional revision process would be transparent and based on stakeholder consultation.
He also stressed the importance of complying with Fifa and AFC rules and warned that member associations risk losing certain rights if they do not fulfill their obligations.
“A federation that does not comply with Fifa and AFC obligations loses its rights as a member association,” Jigmi said.
The workshop is expected to continue discussions on governance reforms and the framework for updating the PFF constitution in line with Fifa and AFC requirements.
