I didn't see a thread for it, and I always like to keep track of football in Pakistan, because my parents are from there, I think the country has a lot of home talent, Pakistan are a nation of 170+ Million strong, and we can't even find decent starting 11. I think the footballing system in Pakistan needs a radical change, the game is enjoyed by millions of fans around the world so why not us, here's an article I found saying that Pakistan could qualify for 2022 World Cup http://dawn.com/news/1044482/pakistan-on-track-to-qualify-for-2022-world-cup-pff-chief I highly doubt it, unless we have a radical overhaul of the system infarstructure.
I've posted a bit of news in the SAFF Thread (https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/saff-thread.1096676/) It's always amazed me really that Pakistan want to run before they have even got a proper league going. Last few seasons have been disrupted with 'no shows' and the fixture list is bloody awful! Look at KRL this year, because they are the best in Pakistan and play continental football, they now get penalised and have to play every other day! They probably won't win the league due to exhaustion and then someone else will play AFC Presidents Cup football when they aren't the true champions and Pakistani football will go backwards. This scenario could happen as the league is structured to see who is fitter wins. I've no idea why they rush the league system? Can't be climate cause every other league in the region takes it's time! Pakistan do look to be improving though. Really impressed by KRL's progress these last few years and Pakistan national team now look like they are getting their act together.
I don't know why, but I can't see why Pakistan can't succeed in football. A bit more of a structure to the league could make the national team on a par with Hong Kong, Singapore - these types of nations.
ZTBL withdraw from the league: http://www.footballpakistan.com/2013/12/ztbl-asked-not-to-play-remaining-ppfl-matches-the-news/
Pakistan will play Afghanistan in the reverse fixture from the 3-0 defeat in Kabul. Pakistan organised higher ranked Lebanon friendly too.
Man if my idol came to Pakistan, dont even get me started ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's football chiefs Thursday invited Diego Maradona to visit the country after the Argentina legend disparagingly compared his own association to the South Asian nation's. The 53-year-old accused the Argentine Football Association (AFA) of “understanding as much about football as Pakistan does”. Naveed Haider, a senior official of the Pakistan Football Federation, welcomed the fact Maradona was talking about his country and urged him to visit to lift the game's profile. “I would love Maradona to come to Pakistan and help Pakistan,” Haider told AFP, noting that the Argentine was already a sports ambassador for Dubai. “He plays a very effective role and we welcome him to come and develop football here.” He acknowledged that Pakistan, ranked a lowly 158th in the world, had a long way to go but said they had made great strides in recent times. “We want to do more than we are doing but we have achieved a lot in the last few years,” Haider said, citing Pakistan winning the Asian Football Confederation's “Aspiring” nation award last year. He also noted Pakistan had climbed in the rankings from a low of 172 last year to their current position, and had recently drawn a match with higher-ranked Malaysia. Tariq Lutfi, head coach of the Pakistani champions Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) said Maradona's comments were out-of-date. “He would be right if he was talking 12 years back. But nowadays the federation is taking many steps including doing a lot for its youth programme,” he said. Last month, KRL strikers Mohammad Adil and Kaleemullah signed for Kyrgyzstan champions FC Dordoi -- a further sign of improving standards in Pakistan, according to Lutfi. Maradona is widely regarded as one of football's greatest ever players and helped his team win the 1986 World Cup, but has never transferred his playing success to coaching, leading the South Americans to an ignominious 4-0 quarter-final exit to Germany at South Africa 2010.
Maradona is one of my favourite players to, along with my father who doesn't even like football, but he still remember '86 Talking about stars visiting Pakistan Here's Manchester United a few years ago
We're going to tour Palestine right for friendlies ? But then the football league still goes on in Pakistan, what they need is a break for International friendlies then resume the league, we're going to have to use KRL midfields, Saddam Hussain whistling: ) and Bilawal Rahman, seeing as these are influential for us, they must hurt KRL title challenge..?
Turns out Adil and Ullah who both signed for Dordoi Bishkek have 4 goals together in 5 apparences, not bad, not bad.
The league finished months ago and only actually runs for about 3/4 months. Don't worry, KRL won league already!
Cheers, so what inspire you to follow Pakistani football? I find it very hard to, so I'm interested in why a person who isn't Pakistani follow pakistani football, considering it isn't really going anywhere either (no rudeness intended btw)
Another question, if you had to pick one European countrie league structure we had similarities to, which country would it be and why? Thanks for the info.
I follow all Asian leagues, my wife is Asian. Also with the help of a dedicated English language website in footballpakistan.com it made it easier to find things out - not everything though! So it's a good challenge to read/write up about the history of the league. I'm always happy to find something new out there, we can all find out EPL, even Japanese league info but PPL, no, no no! It's exciting to discover it! And I'm glad I did. Over the years I've witnessed KRL become something of a power house at their own level and the rise of Pakistan in the AFC Presidents Cup on a whole.
Oh, that's very hard question indeed! Pakistan football isn't very well organised, to the point I couldn't possibly give them any similarities! The problem with the PPL for me is that it's too big. 16 teams, they need to have about 12, smaller league, less games played over the same time period. At the moment it's all rushed through and teams can play every 3 days until their 30 fixtures are completed.
Some Old Records for Pakistani Football Fans to Know About: Pakistan played & lost first international 5–1 away to Iran on January 6, 1950. Pakistan then hosted Iran in April, 1950 and drew 0–0. In 1959, Pakistan failed to qualify for the Asian Cup, after a 4–1 loss by Iran, 1–0 defeat to India and 2–0 loss to Israel. However, Pakistan earned their first win against India when they defeated them 1–0, and were able to reverse the score in the second match against Iran with a 4–1 victory against Iran and held Israel to a 2–2 draw. Several months later, the Greenshirts travelled to Malaya for the Merdeka Cup. They started by beating Thailand 7–0, which still shares the Pakistani record. It was followed by a 1–0 loss to the hosts Malaya, then a 3–1 victory over Japan and finally a 4–0 defeat to Indonesia. Pakistan returned to the Merdeka Cup two years later and this time reached the final against Indonesia, but succumbed to 2–1 defeat. It was three years before Pakistan played another competitive fixture, when they played in the first RDC Cup and finished third. In 1967, they played a series of friendlies against Saudi Arabia, all ending in draws. Later in the year Pakistan lost their Asian Cup qualifiers against Burma and Khmer and drew their final match against India. They then hosted the second RDC Cup and finished third, which included the 4–7 defeat to Turkey. In 1969, they travelled to Iran to take part in friendly tournament, in which they had a 2–1 win against Iraq and a record 9–1 defeat by Iran. As a result of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, East Pakistan became The People's Republic of Bangladesh and consequently the Pakistani team lost the right to call upon Bengali players. In the early 1970s the national side's participation was restricted to the RDC Cup and the 1974 Asian Games, and a single friendly against South Korea in 1978. The most notable result in this period was a 2–2 draw against Turkey. In the King's Cup in 1982, Pakistan secured a goalless draw against Indonesia, the Greenshirts first clean sheet since 1962. After a loss to Thailand, they gained a 3–2 victory versus Malaysia and although they lost a close game against China, they were able to win 1–0 in their final game against Singapore. Pakistan hosted a friendly tournament involving Iran, Bangladesh, Oman and Nepal in 1982. The Greenshirts started off with a 2–1 over Bangladesh. They lost to Iran, but came back and beat Nepal 2–0. The last game against Oman ended nil-nil and Pakistan ended the tournament as runners-up. However, in 1984, the national team lost 4 out of 5 games in the Asian Cup qualifiers, the only victory coming againstNorth Yemen 4–1. The Greenshirts hosted another tournament in 1985, this time inviting North Korea, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal. A goalless draw against the North Koreans boosted the side, and they beat Nepal 1–0. However, losses in the final two games against Bangladesh and Indonesia meant they were again runners up. In the South Asian Games, Pakistan ended fourth after losing a penalty shoot out to Nepal. In the 1986 Asian Games, Pakistan lost all their games. However, a year later the side was more successful at the South Asian Games, winning the bronze medal match against Bangladesh 1–0. In 1988, they lost all their Asian Cup qualifiers. Pakistan made their first attempt to qualify for the World Cup in 1989. However, they were unable to win any of their matches. The Greenshirts bounced back, when several months later they took Gold at the South Asian Games, beating Bangladesh 1–0 in the final. The Greenshirts had another early exit in the Asian Games, losing all three games in 1990. In the 1991 South Asian Games, Pakistan beat the Maldives in the final 2–0 to win their second Gold. The next year they failed to qualify for another Asian Cup after defeats in both qualifiers, after a World Cup qualifying campaign in 1993 where in one game they lost to Iraq 8–0. Later in the year the first SAFF Cup took place, and the Greenshirts finished fourth, but at the 1993 South Asian Games, they were unable to get past the group stage. In 1995, Pakistan went out of the SAFF Cup group stage on goal difference. Between 1996 and 1997, the Greenshirts lost all their Asian Cup and World Cup qualifying games. Pakistan came third in the 1997SAFF Cup, thanks to a 1–0 victory over Sri Lanka in the third place playoff. The 1999 SAFF Cup saw Pakistan finish bottom of their group, and the Greenshirts also failed to get out of the group stage of the final South Asian Games to hold full internationals. Pakistan were unable to win any of their 2000 Asian Cup qualifiers. The following year Pakistan achieved their first point in World Cup qualification, thanks to a hat-trick by Gohar Zaman in a 3–3 draw against Sri Lanka, but all other matches ended in defeat. In 2002, Pakistan played in an unsuccessful four match series against Sri Lanka. At the 2003 SAFF Cup, Pakistan finished fourth, losing 2–1 in extra time to India in the third place playoff. Later in the year, Pakistan won their first Asian Cup qualifier with a 3–0 over Macao, but still were unable to qualify. They rounded off the year with defeats to Kyrgyzstan in the World Cup qualifiers. 2004 saw changes in Pakistan football, with a new administration in place by this time and a new national league up and running. A victory against India in a three match series, the final match ending 3–0 to the Greenshirts, followed, and they went on the reach the semi-finals of the 2005 SAFF Cup. They lost the semifinal against defending champion Bangladesh by 0–1 margin. The Pakistan team lost their first two Asian Cup qualifiers in 2006, in between which they took part in the first AFC Challenge Cup 2006. They failed to get past the group stage, but beat Kyrgyzstan 1–0. Back at the Asian Cup qualifiers, they lost their remaining fixtures. In the World Cup qualifiers in 2007, they fell to a heavy defeat by the Asian champions Iraq and after the 7–0 loss, little was expected on them in the second leg. However, the Greenshirts held them to a goalless draw. In 2008, Pakistan travelled to Nepal for two friendlies before taking on the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. Although they won against Chinese Taipei 2–1 in the first match, and beat Guam in a record-equalling 9–2 win in the final match, other results, including a 7–1 defeat to Sri Lanka, saw them again fail to reach the finals. In the SAFF Championship 2008, Pakistan failed to go beyond the group stages, losing to Maldives 3–0, India 2–1 and Nepal 4–1, which signaled the end of Akhtar Mohiuddin's tenure as head coach. After Mohiuddin’s departure, Austrian-Hungarian coach George Kottan was hired and the veteran tactician took a star-studded team to the SAFF Championship 2009. Despite calling upon foreign players such as Adnan Ahmed, Shabir Khan, Amjad Iqbal, Atif Bashir and Reis Ashraf, the side were unable were defeat 1–0 by Sri Lanka, before drawing 0–0 with Bangladesh as former Manchester United star Adnan missed a late penalty to seal a win. Pakistan trounced Bhutan 7–0 in their last game, but it was all for nothing, as the best team in the tournament according to the locals exited even before the semi-finals. After Kottan’s sacking in February 2010, Pakistan had no senior games during the entire calendar year but saw the appointment of Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts for the U-23 Team. For the AFC Challenge Cup 2012 qualifiers in 2011, KRL FC coach Tariq Lutfi was called up once more and failed to deliver emphatically. Defeats such as the 3–0 against Turkmenistan and 3–1 against India meant that the side were already out of the qualifiers despite beating Chinese Taipei by 2–0. Later in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiersin July, Bangladesh thoroughly beat Pakistan 3–0 in Dhaka, before earning a 0–0 draw in Lahore a few days later. That saw the end of Lutfi’s reign, with Serbian boss Zaviša Milosavljević taking over in November 2011 right before the SAFF Championship 2011. Despite having little time to influence the team, Zavisa managed to hold Bangladesh 0–0, Maldives 0–0 and Nepal 1–1 in the India-hosted SAFF Championship 2011. However, they were unable to progress into the semi-finals and returned home. 2012’s sole game was witnessed in November against Singapore, who thrashed Pakistan 4–0 at home. The Green Kickers then started 2013 with a bang, winning two games against Nepal with identical 1–0 margins thanks to the brilliance of Hassan Bashir. A 1–1 draw with Maldives followed, but with congested fixtures Pakistan ended up losing the last game 3–0 in Male. Pakistan then played the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification in Bishkek, losing out 1–0 to Tajikistan in injury-time.Kyrgyzstan also won 1–0 against the Pak Shaheens after scoring in the 1st minute, but with Hassan Bashir returning, Pakistan comfortably beat Macau 2–0. Pakistan played a friendly against Afghanistan in August, losing 3–0 emphatically without their foreign-based players. Coach Zaviša Milosavljević was sacked and replaced by Bahrain's Mohammad Al-Shamlan, who acted as a coaching consultant to Shahzad Anwar in the 2013 SAFF Championship The Shaheens played their hearts out, but were unable to defeat India and lost 1–0 after horrendous own-goal from Aquib Riaz. Against hosts Nepal, Hassan Bashir scored an early goal, only to see 15-year-old Bimal Gharti Magar level things in injury-time. However, Pakistan beat Bangladesh 2–1 and were unlucky not to reach the semi-finals after losing out on head-to-head with India. In 2014 Pakistan played a 2 match friendly series with India. All matches were played at Bangalore Stadium in India. India beat Pakistan 1-0 in the first friendly and lead the series,but Pakistan striked back with a 2-0 win in the second friendly. Levelling the series but winning on aggregate.
Qatar and Pakistan to co-operate and share knowledge http://www.qfa.com.qa/qatar-pakistan-to-cooperate-extensively-in-football/ Interesting....Qatar do appear quite organised, have an English language website....just giving Pakistan this idea would be a start. Pakistan, with a bit of organisation can make things move.... only difference to Qatar is the size...Qatar can have a pro Doha league....Pakistan, it's hard...either go regional city leagues and then play a finals or have a USA conference style possibly and then a grand final?