FIFA on Wednesdsay suspended the national football federations of Pakistan and Chad after concerns over the governance of the two member associations.
FIFA on Wednesdsay suspended the national football federations of Pakistan and Chad after concerns over the governance of the two member associations.
Amid disputes on how they should be run, the Pakistan soccer federation, known as the PFF, was suspended for ‘third-party interference’ for the second time in four years after a group of officials and protesters occupied the body’s headquarters last month.
Pakistan was previously suspended from October 2017 to March 2018 after FIFA objected to a court decision to appoint an outside administrator to run the PFF after another dispute over a contested election.
The decision was taken after ‘recent hostile takeover of the PFF headquarters in Lahore by a group of protestors’, claimed the official website of FIFA.
FIFA also issued a letter warning that in case ‘the illegitimate occupation of the PFF headquarters not be lifted’ and the office bearers recognised by FIFA not be permitted free access to the building to carry out their mandate, the matter would be immediately submitted to the Bureau of the Council for decision.
As the situation remains unchanged, the Bureau of the Council decided to suspend the PFF. The suspension will only be lifted once FIFA receives confirmation from the normalisation committee of the PFF that the PFF’s premises, accounts, administration and communication channels are again under its full control and it can continue to carry out its mandate without further hindrance, FIFA said.
Meanwhile, the Chadian Football Association (FTFA) has also been suspended due to alleged government interference. According to the official website of FIFA, the suspension was prompted by the recent decisions of Chadian government authorities to permanently withdraw the powers delegated to the FTFA, establish a national committee for the temporary management of football and seize control of the FTFA’s premises.
