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On Friday, February 7, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced suspension of football federations of Pakistan and Congo Republic. The decision came early on Friday after continuous failures to abide by the regulations of the international body.
As confirmed by FIFA, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was suspended due to its failure to adopt a revision of its constitution, which would have ensured fair and democratic elections. Notably, this isn’t the first time FIFA has suspended the PFF as it was earlier banned in 2017 and 2021 due to third-party interference in its affairs.
FIFA suspends Pakistan and Congo Republic’s football federations
As per the statement released by FIFA, "The PFF has been suspended with immediate effect due to its failure to adopt a revision of the PFF Constitution that would ensure truly fair and democratic elections and thereby fulfill its obligations as mandated by FIFA as part of the ongoing normalisation process of PFF." However, the football governing body further added that the ban could only be lifted if the PFF Congress approves the version of constitution presented by FIFA and the AFC.
"The suspension will only be lifted subject to the PFF Congress approving the version of the PFF Constitution presented by FIFA and the AFC," read the statement. While this stands at one place, the Congo Republic was banned due to the interference of third parties in the affairs of the organisation.
"FECOFOOT has been suspended with immediate effect due to a particularly serious situation of undue interference by third parties in the affairs of the organisation, which constitutes a clear violation of FECOFOOT's obligations in accordance with the FIFA Statutes," read the statement from FIFA.
