Pakistan football player Kaleemullah on Tuesday opined on why the football in the country is not progressing and are currently ranked 200th in FIFA rankings.
Kaleemullah first congratulated the Shaheens for beating Cambodia 1-0 and creating history by winning the FIFA World Cup Qualifier match for the first time.
“I think the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) took a great initiative in terms of this event,” Kaleemullah said while talking to Geo News. “First we drew the match in Cambodia, and then won at our home, it is something that should be cheered.
“Pakistan will met with many challenges in the next round. The Shaheens will have to perform [to their best] against Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tajikistan.”
The 31-year-old then went on to talk about the reason why Pakistan football is not progressing saying that the team is still playing football the way they were playing four years ago.
“[Pakistan] football is the same as it was four years ago. We are ranked 200 in the FIFA rankings because we are not changing our ways [to play football]. Our football has not been progressing for the last eight years.
“Not having a [proper] football federation [for years] already damaged, and not having a proper football league which is causing loss to the players.
“The normalisation committee should hold the elections soon so we can go towards innovation [in football]. We have to prepare ourselves well for future challenges,” he added.
It must be noted that Pakistan’s historic win over Cambodia saw them advancing to the second round of the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers where the Green Shirts are in Group G with Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan.
The first leg of the tie between the two sides ended goalless in Cambodia.
Star forward Otis Khan didn't feature in both legs since he didn't get clearance from FIFA.
Pakistan football’s team schedule:
November 16, 2023 — Saudi Arabia vs Pakistan (Away)
November 21, 2023 — Pakistan vs Tajikistan (Home)
March 21, 2024 — Pakistan vs Jordan (Home)
March 26, 2024 — Jordan vs Pakistan (Away)
June 6, 2024 — Pakistan vs Saudi Arabia (Home)
June 11, 2024 — Tajikistan vs Pakistan (Away)
Jaffar Hussain