Football Archives

Federal Government, NC collaborate to contact FIFA for uplifting ban

LAHORE: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has moved closer to uplifting its ban from Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) as the matters between the federal government and Normalization Committee (NC) has been settled.

In a recent development, the federal government has ordered the provincial government of Punjab to hand Lahore’s FIFA football house to NC.

Furthermore, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Fehmida Mirza also contacted FIFA to share the recent development with the governing body.

On the other hand, the NC also expressed concern over Pakistan’s possible deprivation from the world football competitions.

“Due to FIFA sanctions, the country is deprived of competing in international events,” NC stated.

The committee, however, stated that the team can prepare for FIFA World Cup 2030 qualifiers by competing in the youth tournaments.

“Nine international events will be held this year, including the Asian Games and the Asian Youth Games,” NC stated.

“The team can prepare for the FIFA World Cup 2030 qualifiers by competing in the youth tournaments, whereas the qualifiers for the 2030 World Cup will be held in 2027” the committee added.

Furthermore, the normalization committee is optimistic about hosting both Asian Football Confederation (AFC) mega-events this year.

“Both AFC mega-events could be hosted in Pakistan,” NC.

On the other hand, the chairman NC – Haroon Malik said deprivation of participation in the major events, due to FIFA sanctions would be unfortunate for the country.

READ: PCB to remove Ijaz Ahmed due to poor U19 team’s performance: Sources

Michael Owen likely to attend PSL 7’s opening ceremony

KARACHI: Former English footballers, Michael Owen is likely to attend Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 7’s opening ceremony, scheduled on January 27 here at National Stadium.

According to the details, Owen is currently in the metropolis under the banner of Global Soccer Venture (GSV) which held ground breaking ceremony of Pakistan’s first-ever Soccer City Stadium.

Sources told this correspondent that Owen is expected to witness PSL 7’s opening ceremony tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Owen talked to media on the sideline of ground breaking ceremony on Wednesday.

“I am excited to be here and being a part of this soccer city stadium project which will revamp football scenario in the country,” he said.

“The talent here is exceptional and I am really looking forward to meeting some of them soon. I hope to return here and spend time to work for football,” he added.

Owen is scheduled to visit Lyari aka ‘Mini Brazil‘ tomorrow to meet some local footballers.

READ: First-ever soccer city stadium to be built in Pakistan

‘I don’t believe that there is no football talent in Pakistan’ Michael Owen

ISLAMABAD: Former English footballer – Michael Owen held a press conference alongside Chairman Prime Minister Youth Program – Usman Dar, said that it is impossible for him to believe that there is no football talent in Pakistan.

Owen, who landed in the country earlier today talked to the presser with Usman and stated that he can not believe that the country lacks football talent.

“I can not believe that there is no football talent in Pakistan. I am sure, Pakistan’s future stars will emerge from the talent hunt,” Owen said.

Owen also claimed that Pakistan also has football enthusiasts like cricket and hockey, while also stating that we need to just provide an opportunity to the young footballers.

“We just need to provide the opportunity to the young footballers, and I am hopeful that they will make the most of it,” he said.

“International coaches from Europe will also work with Pakistani footballers,” he added.

Owen also expressed gratitude for being a part of the football talent hunt in the country.

Usman, on the other hand, while talking to the presser, welcomed Owen into the country and also announced the former footballer’s appointment as an ambassador.

Furthermore, he also shared different football talent hunts will soon launch as per the ‘Kamyab Jawan Program’. Whereas, the training of selected children in Talent Hunt will be started in Karachi

“We are launching different talent hunts across ten regions, while Football trials will be held in Karachi in the first week of February,” he said.

Usman also announced to send 20 young footballers to Ireland for training, while optimist of witnessing Pakistan’s players in action in different football leagues.

“Twenty young footballers will travel to Ireland for three months of training. In the future Pakistani footballers will also be seen playing in leagues,” he added.

It is worth mentioning here that Owen will soon travel to Karachi, where the former footballer will hold a press conference at the NED University to officially hold a groundbreaking ceremony and release images to the world of Pakistan’s first-ever soccer city.

READ: Karachi Kings to face Islamabad United in a practice match ahead of PSL 7

Michael Owen to unveil Pakistan’s first ever Soccer City Stadium

ISLAMABAD: Former English footballer and Ballon D’Or winner – Michael Owen jets into Pakistan to unveil the Global Soccer Ventures’ (GSV) first-ever soccer city stadium in Pakistan.

The official Ambassador of GSV and the crown jewel of Liverpool will land in Islamabad on 25 January 2022 to begin the football transformation.

In a series of high-profile meetings, Owen will meet PM Imran Khan alongside his special assistant Usman Dar to outline GSV’s football transformation programme for Pakistan. He will attend a meet and greet session with the Army Chief and conclude his Islamabad visit at a high profile presidential reception hosted by Dr Arif Alvi at The President House.

Owen will then travel to Karachi, where the former footballer will hold a press conference at the NED University to officially hold a groundbreaking ceremony and release images to the world of Pakistan’s first-ever soccer city.

“I’m ecstatic to be at the forefront of Pakistan’s largest football transformation programme, and I’m honoured to be entrusted with the task of elevating football in Pakistan to new heights,” Owen said.

It is apropos to mention here that the NED University and GSV inked a 10-year deal earlier this month to build the first-ever soccer city stadium in the country.

READ: Aisam-Ninomiya reach the Australian Open mixed doubles quarterfinals

First-ever soccer city stadium to be built in Pakistan

KARACHI: NED University collaborated with Global Soccer Ventures (GSV) to build the first-ever Soccer City Stadium in Pakistan.

For the construction of the stadium, GSV and NED University have inked a 10-year deal. The concept stadium will provide FIFA’s world-class facilities. The innovative stadium is designed by a German firm.

The goal of the GSV is to develop talented players at the right age.

The Vice-Chancellor of the NED University, Dr Sarosh Hashmat Lodi said that the institute wants to be at the forefront in the development of football as well.

“NED University wants to be at the forefront of science and technology as well as football,” he said.

Chairman GSV, Zaib Khan said that the GSV is the foundation of the sports revolution in Pakistan.

He further said that the construction of the flagship soccer city will encourage other cities and institutions to come forward as well.

READ: Kakri Ground to become third-largest international sports complex

Lionel Messi tests COVID-19 positive

PARIS: Paris St Germain’s (PSG) attacker – Lionel Messi along with three other players, have tested positive for the COVID-19, the Ligue 1 announced today.

Argentina’s Messi, who was representing PSG in the French Ligue 1 returned with a positive COVID-19 test. Defender Juan Bernat, back-up goalkeeper Sergio Rico and midfielder Nathan Bitumazala are the other players who returned positive tests.

The football franchise said that the contracted players have isolated themselves until they returned negative results.

The players are due to travel on Monday, to third-tier club Vannes for a French Cup round-of-32 match.

PSG leads Ligue 1 with 46 points after 19 games, 13 points ahead of Nice in second place.

READ: FIFA approves extension of PFF Normalization Committee

FIFA approves extension of PFF Normalization Committee

LAHORE: FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) approved a six month long extension for the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)’s Normalization Committee (NC).

In a letter issued by the FIFA for the extension of the NC, the football association acknowledged the significant success on judicial and governmental fronts.

“Significant progress in the legal and governmental realms; NC will continue to work,” FIFA.

Following the extension, the Chairman of NC – Haroon Malik is optimist that the PFF is one step closer to the restored membership of the country.

“Football is on the verge of finding a long-term solution to the dilemma. Pakistan is eager to reclaim its FIFA membership as quickly as possible,” Malik said.

Malik further stated that the committee will work tirelessly to achieve FIFA’s trust.

He also thanked the efforts of Minister of Inter Provincial Coordination of Pakistan, Dr. Fehmida Mirza and the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar for the progress.

It is apropos to mention here that the FIFA suspended Pakistan’s membership after the normalization committee was ousted. Later, the football association also formed the NC to end the football crisis in Pakistan.

READ: Few sporting highlights of 2021 from Pakistan

Few sporting highlights of 2021 for Pakistan

KARACHI: With the year 2021 coming to an end, let’s have a look at the top events from the major sports in Pakistan.

Pakistan created history by defeating India in ICC World Cup

It was undoubtedly a remarkable year for the Green Shirts. The men in green set various records and made history. The most prominent event was Pakistan beating India for the first time in a World cup face off.

On 24th October 2021, the two arch-rivals came face to face in their first match of the ICC WT20. Shaheen Shah’s Afridi’s brutal spell, early on, set the tone for the side; helping Pakistan to restrict India for 151/7. Later, it was all Babar Azam and his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan’s show. The pair put on an unbeaten partnership of 152, assisted Pakistan to beat India by 10 wickets.

The side then had an unbeaten run in the group stage, which was then broken by the latter WT20 champions, Australia. The kangaroos defeated the green shirts by five wickets in the second Semi-final.

In 2021, Pakistan also recorded the highest number of victories in T20Is in a calendar year; winning 20 matches.

A frustrating year for the National sport

Pakistan had yet again a disappointing end to a year in the national sport. The green shirts participated in two major events – Junior Hockey World Cup and Asian Hockey Champions Trophy.

In the Junior World Cup, the green shirts were knocked out by Argentina in the group stage; losing the match by 3-4. The side then played several ranking matches, and after beating Poland 5-0, Pakistan managed to finish the tournament with 11th position.

Pakistan did not fare well in the Asian Champions Trophy as well. In the entire tournament, the Green Shirts only won one game against Bangladesh. In the competition, Pakistan met arch-rival India twice, and the men in blue thrashed Pakistan both times. Pakistan finished the tournament; securing the fourth position.

Yet another dark year for football in Pakistan

In April 2021, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) banned the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect; citing the ‘undue third-party influence’.

Following this ban by FIFA, Pakistan’s national and club teams were not able to compete in international competitions.

Talib, Nadeem glimmered ray of hope for Olympic glory

In Tokyo Olympics, Pakistan’s Javelin-thrower – Arshad Nadeem sharpened the hope of a rare Olympic medal. In the Group-B stage, the athlete topped the ranking chart, however, remained unlucky in the final stage. The athlete could not deliver on the final stage and finished at the fifth position. India’s Neeraj Chopra won the Gold-medal.

Similarly, Pakistan’s weightlifter – Talha Talib narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal. The 21-year-old from Gujranwala gave his growing number of fans back home a glimmer of hope; topping Clean & Jerk. But he too remained unlucky in the final stage and also finished with the fifth rank.

Inam Butt injects new energy to Pakistan’s Wrestling arena

Pakistan’s professional wrestler – Inam Butt became the first Pakistani athlete to win Gold-medal in the Beach wrestling world series twice. Butt secured victory by beating his Ukrainian opponent by 3-0 in the final.

The wrestler then could not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Butt, however, blamed the government for not qualifying for the global event. According to the wrestler, he did not receive a single penny from the government. He also claimed that if he could participate in the 2019 World Wrestling Championship, he would have qualified for the Olympics.

Championship leaders Fulham stumble against Sheffield United

Fulham missed the chance to go five points clear at the top of the Championship as they suffered a surprise 1-0 loss at home to Sheffield United on Monday.

Iliman Ndiaye’s early goal at Craven Cottage meant the Blades remain unbeaten under new manager Paul Heckingbottom.

They moved up to 11th place in the table, three points off the play-offs, with their fourth win in a row.

Despite Fulham suffering their first defeat since October 2 to end a run of 11 unbeaten matches, the London club remained two points clear of Bournemouth at the top of the table.

Only the top two teams at the end of the regular season are guaranteed promotion to the Premier League.

The decisive moment of the game came in just the third minute when Ndiaye, receiving the ball in his own half, advanced as Tosin Adarabioyo and Tim Ream back-tracked before the forward struck an accurate shot into the bottom corner.

Sheffield United then protected their lead with aggressive defending that denied Fulham room to play.

Aleksandar Mitrovic was forced to drop deeper to get possession but the Fulham favourite did latch onto a Kenny Tete pass in the 19th minute only for his shot on the run to go wide of the target.

Fulham brought on Tom Cairney at half-time but the presence of an extra playmaker did not lead to any clear chances.

With 15 minutes left, Mitrovic’s shot was easily dealt with by Blades keeper Wes Foderingham before the Serb went close with another shot that hit the underside of the bar.

Messi wins Ballon d’Or for seventh time as Putellas crowned women’s winner

PARIS: Lionel Messi admitted winning the Copa America with Argentina might have been the determining factor in him claiming the men’s Ballon d’Or prize for the seventh time after a turbulent year, as Spain’s Alexia Putellas took the women’s award.

Now 34, Messi pipped much-fancied rivals like Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema to take the award in a glittering ceremony on Monday in Paris, the city he now calls home after leaving boyhood club Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in August.

Despite his tearful goodbye from Barcelona and his relatively underwhelming start to life in France, the jury of journalists from around the world rewarded him in particular for captaining Argentina to their first major international title since 1993.

“Two years ago I thought I was coming into my final years but here I am again back here,” said Messi, who won the last edition of the Ballon d’Or in 2019 before last year’s awards were cancelled due to the pandemic.

Messi also won in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and in 2015.

“People were starting to ask me when I was going to retire but now I am here in Paris and I am very happy,” he said at the Chatelet Theatre in central Paris, where he was joined by his wife Antonella Roccuzzo and their three children.

“I don’t know how many more years I have left but I hope there will be many because I am really enjoying myself this year.

“What I achieved with Argentina was a dream come true. I think I won this trophy thanks to what we did at the Copa America, so I dedicate it to my teammates.”

Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in the final in Rio de Janeiro as Messi won a major title with his country for the first time. He also scored 38 goals in 48 games in his final season with Barcelona and won the Copa del Rey.

– Lewandowski second –

However Messi has played just 11 times and scored four goals for PSG since joining the French club and there was a feeling that this year might see a different winner.

Poland striker Lewandowski would have been a shoe-in in 2020, when he scored 45 goals in 37 games for Bayern, only for the awards to be cancelled.

He ended last season with a remarkable 41 Bundesliga goals but had to settle for second place in the voting for the Ballon d’Or, which is organised by France Football magazine and voted for by a panel of journalists from around the world.

Lewandowski instead was given a consolation prize for the year’s best goal-scorer and received glowing praise from Messi.

“I wanted to say to Robert that it was an honour to go up against him. He deserved to win it last year,” Messi said.

Midfielder Jorginho, who won the Champions League with Chelsea and Euro 2020 with Italy, came third, followed by Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and another Chelsea player, N’Golo Kante.

Five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo came sixth. He was absent from the ceremony.

Between them, Messi and Ronaldo have won 12 of the last 13 editions of the Ballon d’Or with the exception coming in 2018 when Luka Modric claimed the prize.

– Putellas succeeds Rapinoe –

This is just the third year that a women’s Ballon d’Or has been awarded, with Putellas following in the footsteps of Norway’s Ada Hegerberg, winner in 2018, and the United States’ 2019 World Cup superstar Megan Rapinoe.

Spain international Putellas, 27, captained Barcelona to victory in this year’s Champions League, scoring a penalty in the final as her side hammered Chelsea 4-0.

She also won a Spanish league and cup double with Barca, the club she joined as a teenager in 2012 and who are fast becoming the dominant force in the women’s game.

Her Barcelona and Spain teammate Jennifer Hermoso was second, with Sam Kerr of Chelsea and Australia coming in third.

“I am sure I won’t be the last Barcelona player to win the prize. This is just the beginning,” said Putellas, who in August was named player of the year by European football’s governing body UEFA.