Untimely decisions Pakistan’s football chiefs have not only committed several mistakes at the top level but have also made technical blunders while preparing the country’s junior teams for international assignments By Alam Zeb Safi All is not well in the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF). The steps which the federation has been taking against its coaching and other staff members for the last few years have left a serious question mark on the way football is being run in Pakistan. It was in 2008 when the PFF sacked coach Akhtar Mohiuddin in a bizarre way after his team flopped in the SAFF Cup, jointly hosted by Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Akhtar came to know about his removal when he was boarding a Pakistan-bound aircraft at the Colombo airport. Akhtar, regarded as one of the most experienced coaches, was shocked by the PFF’s untimely punch. It was not the only time that Akhtar was treated like this. After Austrian coach George Kottan was relieved of his job in early 2010 following Pakistan’s pathetic performance in the Dhaka South Asian Games, Akhtar was given the task of coaching the side in the China Asian Games at the end of that year. But after Akhtar’s charges failed to impress in the continent’s biggest show, he was abruptly removed. Zavisa Milosavljevic became the latest victim of PFF when he was shown the exit door after his team lost to Afghanistan 0-3 in a friendly on August 20 in Kabul. Zavisa, whose two-year contract was to expire in the first week of November, did not expect this and it left him shell-shocked. If the PFF had to remove Zavisa they should have done so after Pakistan flopped in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup Qualifiers in Kyrgyzstan early this year. Goalkeeping coach Aslam Khan, who was part of Zavisa’s coaching staff for the SAFF Cup; also fell victim to PFF’s firing. Other staff members have also been treated in this whimsical manner. In the recent past the PFF showed the exit door to its Director Finance Nadia Naqvi, Director Youth Development and Grassroots Siddique Sheikh and media manager Agha Ajmal. They were forced to tender resignations although all of them were doing their jobs diligently. The decisions have damaged the image of the PFF and several other employees don’t feel any job satisfaction despite extending good performance in their respective fields. The numbers don’t end here. Former assistant coach Nasir Ismail was last year removed ahead of the national team’s tour to Singapore. Assistant coach Gohar Zaman was shown the exit door just ahead of the national team’s tour to Thailand. Although Gohar was sacked for managerial negligence, what was the fault of Nasir Ismail? Without creating a decent working environment it is not possible to run a federation in a professional manner. The PFF is regarded as one of the most resourceful federations in the country — after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). I don’t say that they should not take decisions. But these should be timely. Since removing Agha Ajmal in March this year, the PFF has been running its media department on an ad-hoc basis by experimenting with staff members, who already have other responsibilities. Coming back to the episode of Zavisa and goalkeeping coach Aslam Khan, I would say that their removal was not timely. They were sent back home when SAFF Cup was just a week away. In order to hide their own follies the PFF resorted to such a decision. One of the biggest failures of the PFF was that it did not provide ample foreign exposure to the national team ahead of the SAFF Cup, which Pakistan have never won. The loss against Afghanistan was in a friendly and the players were not only tired but they were also missing their five foreign-based colleagues who were a vital part of the team’s chemistry. Now, if the boys fail to click in Nepal — which appears most likely — then who will be responsible? No one but the PFF. The PFF says Zavisa was responsible for the failure. But it was PFF that chose the Serbian for this job. The PFF is in dire need of a seasoned Director Technical who could streamline the whole process. The PFF marketing consultant should not have a role in the team’s making. His job should only be limited to finding sponsors and generating revenues which the federation is direly in need of. The PFF has not only made several mistakes at the top level but it has also made technical blunders while preparing its junior teams for international assignments. The PFF has now hired the services of Bahraini coach Mohammed Shamlan for a couple of years. He should be treated with respect. Anything rough on PFF’s part will create more problems for Pakistan football.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 04:59:24 +0000