Taking soccer to a higher plane

The Pakistan Football Federation and its chief Syed Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat's passion to drive the sport to a higher level has received kudos from an otherwise a highly critical sub-committee of the Senate's Standing Committee on Sports.

As hockey and squash came for a thrashing at the committee, it would not be wrong to say that the PFF was the only sport to have been given thumbs up. In its recommendations after a recent meeting with the sports officials, the committee showed its satisfaction over the work being done by the PFF.

There was reason for this endorsement: the PFF in recent years under Faisal has achieved quite a bit - despite a few setbacks indeed a major turnaround after long years of neglect.

Its stride towards modern organisation with emphasis on youth development, introduction of women's soccer and increasing accent on professionalism are changes for the better. Over the years, since cricket established itself as predominant sport, dwarfing all others in the country in the process, in terms of attraction for youth, football has increasingly made its presence felt over the last few years for.