Former football players hold rally, formally launch association

Erstwhile footballers hold rally at Karachi Press Club to highlight game’s plight

KARACHI: Pakistan’s former footballers spent a busy Friday, officially announcing the formation of the Pakistan Football Players’ Association and holding a rally at the Karachi Press Club to demonstrate their displeasure at the state of football in the country.

According to former national captain Essa Khan, who is spearheading the cause, the movement will pick up pace all over the country as they will go to Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta in order to reach out to former players who can then stand on one platform to speak up for their rights.

The biggest concern at hand has been Pakistan’s absence from international tournaments and domestic leagues, consequently stalling many footballers’ careers.

PHOTO COURTESY: FACEBOOK/ KALEEMULLAH

“We just want football activities to resume,” Essa told The Express Tribune. “Our football is dying; it’s essential for us to feature in international events. There haven’t been any domestic tournaments and international matches since last year, which has hurt our rankings too. The aim is to appeal to the authorities to do something about this situation.”

The void in football activity is a result of a political tussle within the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), which first surfaced in April last year with the formation of a rival group against Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, who has been the federation’s president for more than a decade.

PHOTO COURTESY: FACEBOOK/ KALEEMULLAH

FIFA sided with Hayat, giving him two more years to hold fresh elections. On the other hand, the Lahore High Court appointed Asad Munir as the administrator of the PFF to see to the body’s day-to-day affairs and conduct elections.

Essa, who is accused of being partial towards Hayat’s faction, insisted that the players’ association is not taking any sides.

Meanwhile, current national players like Saddam Hussain said they were not informed about the rally and therefore were unable to join the demonstration.

PHOTO COURTESY: FACEBOOK/ KALEEMULLAH

Former Pakistan player Amjad Zakariya from Khanewal, whose national career spanned a decade, said that all the former players will need to come on board to make the movement a success.

“When I was playing, Pakistan’s ranking was somewhere between 140 and 145; now it is 194,” said Zakariya. “The players’ association is a good idea, but Essa will need to bring forth better networking than this.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2016.

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