Can the PFF’s new strategy deliver for Pakistan’s women footballers?

AI Summary

Pakistan's football federation has introduced a 2026–30 strategy to develop women's football, following several milestones including the national team's FIFA Series debut and the country's first women's futsal team competing internationally. A three-year cooperation agreement with Iran and domestic league initiatives are part of the effort, though the article also examines challenges to implementation.

Women’s football in Pakistan has seen more milestones in 2026 than in a long time. In January, the country’s first women’s national futsal team took part in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Futsal Championships in Bangkok. In April, the women’s football team made its historic debut at the FIFA Series in Côte d’Ivoire. In October, Pakistan and Iran signed a three-year memorandum of understanding to boost cooperation in football and futsal for youth, women and men. Just before that, in September, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) finalised its Women’s Football Strategy 2026-30, a five-year plan for the game. This writer spoke to players, coaches and PFF officials to understand both the promise of the strategy and the challenges that may stand in its way. Timeline A landmark year for Pakistan’s women’s game January First women’s futsal team Plays the SAFF Futsal Championships in Bangkok April FIFA Series debut Women’s football team features in Côte d’Ivoire September Strategy 2026-30 finalised PFF’s five-year plan for women’s football October Iran MoU and SHE League Three-year pact; SHE League and Juniors held in Islamabad Source: Amani Khan, Dawn (function () { var me = document.currentScript || document.scripts[document.scripts.length - 1]; var wrapper = me && me.closest('.raw-html-embed-wrapper'); var source = wrapper && wrapper.querySelector('script.raw-html-source'); if (!source || wrapper._rawHtmlMounted) return; wrapper._rawHtmlMounted = true; // position:sticky breaks under any overflow:hidden ancestor. "clip" hides the same overflow // without creating a scroll container. for (var a = wrapper.parentElement; a; a = a.parentElement) { var cs = getComputedStyle(a); if (cs.overflowX === 'hidden') a.style.overflowX = 'clip'; if (cs.overflowY === 'hidden') a.style.overflowY = 'clip'; } // Undo the server-side escaping of closing script tags / comment openers. var html = source.textContent.replace(/ frame.clientHeight ? scroller.scrollHeight : root.getBoundingClientRect().height); pinned = h > window.innerHeight; if (pinned) { stage.style.position = 'sticky'; stage.style.top = '0'; fillScreen(stage); track.style.height = h + 'px'; max = Math.max(0, h - frame.clientHeight); } else { // Grow only: vh-based content would otherwise shrink with its own frame, forever. fitH = Math.max(fitH, h); stage.style.position = 'static'; stage.style.height = fitH + 'px'; track.style.height = 'auto'; max = 0; } sync(true); } // inside the frame would only scroll the (non-scrollable) frame. Scroll the page instead. function onAnchorClick(e) { var link = e.target.closest && e.target.closest('a[href^="#"]'); if (!link || e.defaultPrevented) return; var id = link.getAttribute('href').slice(1); try { id = decodeURIComponent(id); } catch (x) { } var target = id ? doc.getElementById(id) : null; if (id && !target) return; e.preventDefault(); var inFrame = target ? target.getBoundingClientRect().top + win.scrollY : 0; window.scrollTo({ top: track.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.scrollY + (pinned ? Math.min(inFrame, max) : inFrame), behavior: 'smooth' }); } frame.addEventListener('load', function () { try { win = frame.contentWindow; doc = win.document; var ro = new win.ResizeObserver(measure); // created in the frame's realm ro.observe(doc.documentElement); if (doc.body) ro.observe(doc.body); doc.addEventListener('click', onAnchorClick); measure(); } catch (e) { // No script access to the frame: fall back to a plain scrollable frame. win = null; frame.removeAttribute('scrolling'); stage.style.position = 'static'; fillScreen(stage); track.style.height = 'auto'; } }); fillScreen(stage); fillScreen(track); // placeholder until the frame has loaded and been measured window.addEventListener('scroll', function () { sync(false); }, { passive: true }); window.addEventListener('resize', measure); stage.appendChild(frame); track.appendChild(stage); wrapper.appendChild(track); })(); Part of the new activity stems from a change of leadership at the PFF. The president’s election in May 2025 marked a turning point for Pakistani football after years of governance trouble, during which a FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee ran the federation’s affairs. Even so, advancing the women’s game will not be easy. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2026, Pakistan remains among the countries with the lowest gender parity in th