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FIFA suspends Pakistan in row over local federation | READ DETAILS

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FIFA suspended Pakistan’s membership Wednesday and ordered an unrecognised committee to vacate the national football federation’s headquarters in the country.

Pakistan football has been run by a FIFA-appointed committee since 2019, but members were evicted from their Lahore office last week by a group claiming to have held legitimate elections.

“The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has been suspended until further notice,” FIFA said in a statement from its headquarters in Zurich.

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“PFF representative and club teams are therefore no longer entitled to take part in international competitions until the suspension is lifted.”

The ban means Pakistan — whose last international match was against Cambodia in June 2019 — will no longer get FIFA development funding, worth around $1.25 million a year.

Pakistan, a giant at the regional level in the 1960s and 70s, has been suspended twice before because of government interference in the sport.

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The country is currently ranked 200th out of FIFA’s 210 teams.

Pakistan’s supreme court ordered the national football body to hold elections in 2019, which were claimed by a group led by a businessman, Ashfaq Hussain.

But the Asian Football Confederation refused to accept the result, and FIFA appointed a normalisation committee to run the federation’s affairs until recognised elections could be held.

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Ashfaq’s group claimed to have done that last week, and took possession of the headquarters.

“It’s shameful,” former international Aurangzeb Shahmir told AFP, calling the latest suspension a “black day” for Pakistan football.

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