Football’s governing body, FIFA, has extended the mandate of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Normalisation Committee till December this year.
The current mandate of the PFF NC was supposed to come to an end today, March 15.
The extension has been given to ensure the completion of PFF elections which are facing delays at the district level.
“The Council confirmed that the mandate of the Normalisation Committee for the Pakistan Football Federation will be extended until 15 December 2024 to allow for the completion of the existing mandate and electoral process,” FIFA said in a press release on Thursday.
According to FIFA, the mandate of the NC includes the managing of PFF’s daily affairs, ensuring the proper registration and scrutiny of the football clubs in Pakistan, draft and ratify, with the assistance of FIFA and the AFC, an electoral code for the PFF, organise the elections at district followed by provincial levels and conduct the elections of a new PFF executive committee.
The NC was appointed in September 2019 with Humza Khan as the chairman. Meanwhile, current head Haroon Malik and his NC were appointed in January 2021 after Humza's resignation.
In June 2022, FIFA had decided to lift ban, which was imposed in April 2021, on the PFF due to undue third-party interference. FIFA has also extended the mandate of the NC by 12 months.
Meanwhile, in June last year, another extension was given to the PFF NC till March 2024.
The Pakistan football team is currently preparing in Lahore for the round two clash of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, which will be held on March 21 at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad, against Jordan.
The preliminary squad has already been announced but the final squad, which will also include overseas players, will be announced later.
Captain Easah Suliman is also set to make a comeback in the squad after recovering from injury.
Additionally, Stephen Constantine will continue as Pakistan coach for the upcoming matches.