A massive year for Pakistan football has come to an end, with the next set to be even bigger.

On the pitch, at least, 2023 was the year of deliverance: Pakistan at long last getting their maiden FIFA World Cup qualifying victory.

Off the field, however, there has been slow progress; the Pakistan Football Federation Normalisation Committee (NC) still looks unlikely to meet its target to hold elections of the country’s football governing body by the end of its mandate, on March 15.

And that, despite Pakistan advancing to the second round of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the first time they’ve gone this far in the preliminaries for football’s showpiece tournament, has overshadowed everything.

The work being done towards elections by the Haroon Malik-led, FIFA appointed Normalisation Committee remains in question. Even the polls of the Pakistan Football Referees Association it held are still shrouded in doubt.

There have been widespread protests and the government has weighed in too. It is offering the Normalisation Committee all the support it needs to hold elections by March 15. Its patience, like that of the other stakeholders in Pakistan football, is wearing thin. It is now or never for the Normalisation Committee.

It’s now been over four years since the Normalisation Committee was first appointed; in January, it will be three years since Haroon became chairman. In those three years, Pakistan was suspended by FIFA from March 2021 till June 2022. The NC had vowed it will hold elections in eight months after it regained control of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) offices; its expulsion having been the reason for the suspension. It’s now 18 months since it returned to office. The elections still........

© Dawn (Magazines)