Pakistan Football League kicks off | The Express Tribune

KARACHI:

Top football stars from around the world have arrived in Pakistan for the official launch of the Pakistan Football League (PFL) on Tuesday (June 4) in Lahore.

Football stars and executives from the UK, Italy, Spain, USA, and Portugal have already confirmed their participation in the launch event. The Pakistan High Commission in London announced that it had issued over a dozen visas for the occasion.

The high-powered delegation is led by renowned figures such as Michael Owen, a retired English footballer famed for his goal-scoring abilities and stints with Liverpool, Real Madrid, and the English national team; Emile Heskey, a former English footballer who played for Leicester City, Liverpool, and Aston Villa; Pascal Chimbonda, a French national team player who also competed in the English Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur, Wigan Athletic, and Sunderland; and Raúl Rodríguez, a former central defender for Espanyol in Spain’s La Liga in 2010.

Shortly after arriving in Pakistan on Monday, the footballers visited Red Oak High, ISSC Campus, and Roots Millennium Group of Colleges. They also attended meetings with ministers. Michael Owen even played football with the children at a local school.

The delegation also includes Steve Wood, who oversees Michael Owen’s global commercial activities; Adrian Bevington, a highly experienced senior executive in English football; Michael Knighton, a well-regarded English businessman and former Manchester United board member; Carlo Mastellone, a former Italian footballer; Adolfo Guerrero Gunther, Club Atletico de Madrid’s International Expansion Manager since 2016; Amando Moreno, a Spanish football director who has worked with Rafa Benitez; Davide Gomes, former head coach of Benfica B, Benfica’s reserve team; Luis Miguel De Sousa Santos Reis, a retired Brazilian footballer; Gustavo Amador Moure, a seasoned legal professional; Adrián Varela, President of International Relations at CA River Plate; Wilson Lotutala, Marketing Director at FC Basel; Chris Kaufmann, CEO of FC Basel 1893; Paul-David Matthias Erne, head of recruitment at FC Lous Club in Major League Soccer, USA; Michael John Farnan, a British entrepreneur and co-founder of Redstrike; Simon Bytheway, a senior executive at Redstrike; and Glen Morgan and Ait-Ali Rabah.

Sports journalists Alison Jane Bender, renowned for her work with Sky Sports, Chelsea TV, and Real Madrid TV; Jim White, a veteran sports writer for The Telegraph; and Gary Stonehouse, an experienced sports journalist for The Sun, are also part of the delegation.

The three-day visit began on Monday in Islamabad, followed by a journey to Lahore for the official unveiling on June 4, and will conclude in Karachi, known as The City of Lights. The itinerary includes a lineup of important meetings with senior officials and a football carnival at Kakri Football Stadium in Lyari, aimed at honoring Pakistan’s unsung football heroes.

Farhan Junejo, Chairman of PFL UK Holdings overseeing the event, mentioned that the launch will feature the largest gathering of high-profile football delegates ever seen in Pakistan.

Farhan Junejo remarked, “Pakistan has warmly embraced football professionals, underscoring the sport’s potential and global interest in Pakistani football. The inaugural kick-off in this league will significantly impact the lives of numerous young aspirants. My initiative to distribute 100,000 footballs across Pakistan aims to provide every child who wishes to play football with a ball. PFL aims to rejuvenate the next generation of football stars.”

“We have secured agreements with a club in Portugal to send 100 children to Lisbon annually for training alongside top professionals. My vision is for Pakistani youth to travel abroad on private jets rather than through perilous routes.”

Farhan Junejo mentioned that football professionals will engage with the senior military and political leadership.