The FIFA World Cup concluded recently with Argentina emerging victorious. Argentina and Messi fans around the globe, including a vast number from Pakistan, are elated and ecstatic. The Pakistani fans of Messi are over the moon as they have seen him lift the World Cup trophy. Their dream has come true. For them, the debate “who is the best player” has settled now. Some football fans in Pakistan even celebrated the victory of Argentina with firecrackers.
From the news anchors, sportspersons, celebrities, and politicians to the Prime Minister, everyone congratulated Qatar for hosting a successful World Cup and Argentina for winning the World Cup.
Messi might not even imagine how much of a fan following he has in Pakistan. Pakistani football fans appreciate, adore, and follow him. Argentinians might not know much about Pakistan, but almost everyone here knows about Argentina. That is the power of a global sport.
And it is not this generation alone that knows about Argentina as a great football nation because of Messi and company. It was Maradona, decades ago. It will be someone else, a couple of decades from now. That is what a global superstar can achieve. It is not only Messi and Argentina that Pakistanis love, many other players have melted the hearts of Pakistani fans with their skills. They have a huge fan base in Pakistan.
Football fans watched the World Cup with passion and thrill supporting their favorite team. Despite no Pakistani team, football fans in Pakistan supported their favorite players and teams. The positives for Pakistan in this whole World Cup were the footballs that were manufactured in Punjab, Pakistan, and the Pakistani soldiers who provided security to the World Cup.
Good Infrastructure, adequate resources, and all other steps are necessary and aid to the process but they can only be utilized when there is a strong will at all levels to take the sport forward and bring glory to Pakistan.
The population of Argentina is around 45 million and the population of Pakistan stands at 225 million. Meanwhile, Argentina is the world champion while Pakistan is yet to play a World Cup match.
Pakistan joined FIFA in 1948. According to a FIFA survey of 2006, Pakistan was among the top 20 nations with the most soccer players. It is necessary to know that the population of Pakistan at that time was around 164 million. And one can easily predict that with the increase in population, the number of soccer players must have increased considerably because the passion and craze for soccer have only increased with time. But still, Pakistan remains the only AFC member team never to win a FIFA World Cup qualifier.
One of the many strategies propounded by experts all over the world to popularize a sport in youth is the marketing of that sport in the youth.
In Pakistan’s case, even this strategy is also not required. Football is not short of popularity in the country. And the popularity is similar in villages and cities. The craze of football is incredible due to the following reasons: A) The famous footballers have a great fan following in Pakistan and young players love to imitate their favorite players, B) The sport does not require a lot of money. All the players need to do is to get one ball that can help them play several games without having to spend any more money, C) Many young players consider soccer more rewarding in terms of fitness and health than other sports.
Having said that, the sport remains ignored and devoid of attention. But why has football not developed as a sport in Pakistan? Why has Pakistan not been able to do well at the international level? Why has Pakistan failed to utilize the potential and talent of the youth? Why is our highest authority dealing with the sport so unprofessional that it gets banned by FIFA even after years of establishment?
The sole reason that is at the heart of the matter is the lack of a will. A lack of will at the state level to make the sport progress in the country and a lack of will at the basic level that includes the authority in charge of the affairs of the sport in the country.
A sport can get ignored at the state level for various reasons. It could be the lack of will of the respective governments, lack of resources, lack of attention, etc. For example, as the World Cup ended, politicians, anchors, and sports personalities deemed it necessary to congratulate Qatar for successfully holding the World Cup and the winning team for winning the Cup but did nothing to better the state of the sport in the country. All could have pressed the government to take effective steps. But it did not happen.
The PM could have taken the matter into his hands. He could have shown a strong will and taken immediate steps to make sure Pakistan qualifies for the next world cup. But, it was not to be.
Similarly, the media, sportspersons, and politicians could have exerted pressure on the prime minister to take revolutionary steps for the next World Cup. But things remain the same as they were before. Time will pass. Another World Cup will arrive but nothing will change.
Similarly, a lack of will at the level of authority in charge of the sport has a lot to do with this sorry state of football in the country. It could argue that the lack of funds, infrastructure, etc hampered its progress but given the talent, available resources, and existing infrastructure in the country, it could have dealt with the sport a lot better than it has done. But, instead, it got banned a couple of times in the last five years.
Having said that, what can make football progress as a sport in Pakistan?
The first step in this regard is the development of a strong will followed by a merit-based process of discovery and nurturing of talent to become a finished product.
Good Infrastructure, adequate resources, and all other steps are necessary and aids to the process but they can only be utilized when there is a strong will at all levels to take the sport forward and bring glory to Pakistan.
