Mission expected to submit concrete proposals to FIFA: FIFA, AFC joint mission completes talks with PFF officials

KARACHI: In a bid to reach to a certain conclusion what should be the way forward for resolving the long standing dispute of Pakistan football the joint mission of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Wednesday held final round of talks with all stakeholders at Lahore.The mission in continuation from the first day on Tuesday also heard the FIFA-recognised PFF two-member team comprising its Secretary General Col Ahmed Yar Lodhi and Manager Clubs and League Shahid Khokhar in a meeting lasted for one hour. The FIFA-recognised legal counsel Afzal Khan also briefed the four-member mission. The mission also took input from the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) President Lt General (retd) Syed Arif Hasan who was also accompanied by his Secretary General Khalid Mehmood.Sources said that the president of FIFA-recognised PFF Faisal Saleh Hayat also discussed in length the current situation with the mission. The mission was briefed about the background of the current football crisis in Pakistan by Faisal. Sources have also disclosed that the possible solutions to the problems faced by the country’s football were also deliberated in the meetings.Also met with the mission include the FIFA-recognised PFF senior vice-president Syed Khadim Ali Shah and vice- president Robina Irfan, president of Islamabad Football Association (IFA) Dr Fazal-ur-Rehman and Pakistan Football Referees Association (PFRA) President Mian Abdul Bari.Earlier in the morning a U-turn was seen on the part of Ashfaq-led PFF. Shah himself met the mission. He was accompanied by the Islamabad Football Association Secretary Sharafat Bukhari.Sharafat told The News that Shah had called them Tuesday night that he wanted to meet them and thank them for coming to Pakistan. “We met a couple of the mission members. Shah thanked them for coming to Pakistan,” Sharafat said. After the mission refused to meet its vice-president Naved Haider Ashfaq’s Congress had sent only it’s legal team comprising Ch Zulfiqar and Taha Ali Zai who held a three-hour long meeting with the mission on Tuesday.The mission, which was headed by Head of MA Governance FIFA Luca Nocola, also includes Senior Manager MA Governance and Services FIFA Alexander Holt, Deputy Director Legal AFC Andrew Mercer and Senior MA Manager AFC Purushotam Kattel.The mission then returned Wednesday night and will submit its report with FIFA.“The mission is expected to submit concrete proposals for the way forward to the relevant FIFA body in due course,” a FIFA spokesman told The News on Wednesday.

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