Former national skippers and Fifa referees have hailed Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)'s President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat for taking tangible measures to give boost to the game of football among Pakistani men and women.
"The step of bringing AFC President's Cup into Pakistani soil will be ever remembered in Pakistan's soccer history and Faisal Saleh Hayat played a major role in it. His ambition to see AFC's calendar event in Pakistan brings excitement to soccer enthusiasts in this part of the world," said Ghulam Rabbani, captain of Pakistan team, which played against Burma (now known as Myanmar) in 1961.
Zafar Iqbal, skipper in Saff Championship 1993, said that Faisal Saleh Hayat is a big lover of football, adding that AFC want to shift the venue of AFC President's Cup away from Pakistan after it was earlier postponed due to visa problems.
But our PFF president persuaded AFC Chief Mohamed bin Hammam during the 57th Fifa Congress at Swiss capital of Zurich last May to announce new dates, not new venue and Hammam, knowing Faisal's handsome 4-year contribution for Pak soccer, decided to keep the event at Pakistan soil."
It is not easy to maintain the event at the same venue, once it is postponed. The second edition last year was shifted to Malaysia from Cambodia. Mukhtar Ali (PIA), captain of Pakistan in 1987 and 1988, said the way PFF is going on nowadays, it looks as if football is taking charge of title of national game, overrunning hockey.
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