KARACHI: Qatar Football Association (QFA) has agreed to develop a long-term partnership with the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) for the promotion and development of football in the country.

It was decided during a formal meeting of an eight-member delegation of the QFA headed by its chief Hamad Khalifa Al Thani with the PFF president Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat at the FIFA Football House in Lahore on Sunday.
The QFA chief had unexpectedly visited Lahore on a short notice after paying a visit to Bangladesh. The delegation arrived at noon on Sunday and left for Doha at 4pm after holding the vital meeting.

Other prominent members of the delegation were General Secretary of the 2022 FIFA World Cup’s Supreme Committee Hassan Abdulla HR Al-Thawadi, Assistant General Secretary of the QFA Ali Mohamed N B Al Naemi and Tariq A Aziz Al-Naama, the Deputy Chairman of the Aspire Academy in Qatar.

“It was a fruitful meeting and we wanted a long term partnership with the QFA and they agreed which will help us to develop our football,” the PFF secretary Col Ahmad Yar Khan Lodhi told ‘The News’ on Monday.
“It was the first step and we will try to get full advantage of the assistance from the QFA,” said Lodhi. “The Aspire Academy of Qatar is very good and if we are able to send our youth teams for training there it will really help them,” said the official.

The QFA also agreed to extend technical and professional support to the PFF in different areas, including youth development, training of coaches and development of women football. The QFA president said that Qatar would always welcome Pakistan’s national team to use the basic training facilities in Doha.
“After the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers our national team will appear in the SAFF Cup in Nepal in September-October and we will try to send the squad to Qatar for training,” said Lodhi.

Qatar will also assist PFF in the up-gradation of the infrastructure for the development of football in Pakistan. A detailed presentation on the marketing strategies adopted by the PFF was also made during the meeting.
The QFA agreed to study the proposals given by the Marketing Consultant of the PFF Sardar Naveed Haider Khan. The Marketing Consultant has also been invited to visit Qatar for in-depth studies, a PFF press release said.

The PFF chief Faisal Saleh Hayat appreciated the efforts of the QFA and the Qatar government in bringing the FIFA World Cup 2022 to that country. He said the World Cup 2022 would take football to new heights in the region. The PFF also offered its cooperation to QFA in holding of this prestigious event.

Al-Thani also extolled the role of the PFF in strengthening the institutional development in the region. He also lauded the services of the PFF chief for the development of football in Asia.

Courtesy: THE NEWS