The doors for new stars have opened. Pakistan Football Federation officially announced trials for the U15 category before the World Cup and Festivals 2026. Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar will host regional trials.
Before the major event in this category, this is a massive opportunity for new talents to shine. But does it actually work for new talents to shine at the local level? One of the venues in these five hosted trials last time and secured the majority of the squad. While in the whole squad, there were just three or four clubs.
This raises serious concerns about trials and the footballing system in Pakistan. In a city, we can find tens of football clubs that are operating. But when it is about trials and selection, there are just three or four clubs.
Is the football structure failing?
Is the club system not efficient?
Is it all about the football mafia?
Is the football structure failing?
At the start, with stats, it feels like the footballing structure is failing. Over the years, there has been no domestic-level football activity. Cities like Lahore and Peshawar had a few good tournaments, while Islamabad does have a much better football ecosystem. But cities like Quetta and Karachi, which are hubs of our football, are being left behind.
In Quetta, at the government level, we have the CM Balochistan Football Tournament, which is an open tournament. Teams from the whole country participate in this, somehow restricting local-level clubs from staying at the bottom.
Karachi has two big clubs in the country, where Karachi City and Karachi United had their own tournaments and activities over the year. But what about the enrolment from Lyari in football? The city has got some of the biggest names to feature in Pakistan football, but when it is about PFF tournaments, there is nothing.
This is the condition of regional football. Cities like Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Abbottabad, and a few more do not even have such a structure and culture. It undermines a certain number of football talents.
Is the club system not efficient?
Many of us are just familiar with a few names in the Pakistani club system. A few names from Islamabad, Punjab, Sindh, and Spartax FC from KPK. There is no big name from Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan. When it is about trials, the list of names decreases even more. According to reports, in Islamabad, there are more than 20 clubs, while countrywide, the number reaches over a hundred entities.
So we have the club culture, but why is it not efficient? The issue is that we are still facing whether it will be a city-based club culture or departmental. Most of the names of our clubs still feature at the departmental level for obvious pay reasons. Not many big names are signed with any clubs; most of our national stars play for departments.
The clubs are suitable for young boys to get a baseline. Many new names, or mostly U19 and U21 players, play at clubs. But clubs do not have a structure for senior teams. A few clubs have senior teams, but similarly, the female teams are not there.
Is it all about the football mafia?
Without a single doubt, this is the core issue. Pakistan Football Federation is under the influence of a football mafia. In the teams, we see players from a few clubs rapidly being selected. Even some of the biggest clubs in the country have failed to get any spot in the national side. Then, one of the clubs got the trials at their home ground, which gave them an upper hand to control the system.
Secondly, many people in the Federation have their own clubs running. They hold influence over the selection process, which is one of the reasons they get many players in the squad. On top of that, members of the Board in the Federation also make their relatives and friends into teams. While, on the other side, players from the diaspora get into the team, but the criteria that got them into the team is never explained.
So, it is simple: things from the top of the Federation to the bottom are messed up. For a young kid, there should be a system from school level for a better team. They are still confused about how to figure out trials. On the bigger picture, where teams are getting training and international friendlies before the World Cup, we are hustling to find the team.
