Inaugural CLASSIC FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2018 was announced in Pakistan Football Federation press conference at Football House on Thursday.
PFF and Strawberry Sports Management are jointly brining city/franchise based league in which top talent from Pakistan and international footballers will be in action. Two weeks event is to be scheduled in last quarter of this year. The inaugural season of the League is likely to be played in Karachi/Lahore during the last quarter of 2018. It was shared that top national players have already been lined up for the League, while PFF is reaching out to players abroad. The event will see minimum 5 teams named after different regions of Pakistan including 4 provinces will take part.
PFF expressed its complete support for the League and stressed that it shall set the direction of football in the country towards talent development and exposure. Strawberry Sports Management expressed the
desire to hold variety of pre event activations for the League to ensure organic support and ownership for the League.
Shahid Khokhar, Head League Development & Media PFF and Director of the Classic Football League dubbed the CFL as vital for the promotion of football in Pakistan “Classic Football League to Play Vital Role in
Promotion of Football” he said He underscored the importance of sport in building healthy societies
and said “Football is the most popular sport in the world. but unfortunately, in Pakistan, football couldn’t attain the heights it could have. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that Pakistan was unable to adopt the latest measures in the sport”
Shahid said. He expressed delight in the fact that the public is growing interest in the sport, this is evidenced by the fact that the number of football fans is on the rise. Talking about CFL, Shahid praised the model and whole concept, “the franchise based model of the Classic Football League is popular globally. It allows the
stakeholders to participate in the development of the sport. This also gives the corporate sector a prominent role” he said. He also assured full support for the success of the League.
Shehzad Anwer, Technical Director of PFF, also the chairman CFL selection committee, appreciated the gesture of Strawberry Sports Management to promote football. He also lauded Haider Ali Daud Khan, Chairman of CFL, for his efforts in development of the sport. “PFF has formed a selection committee based on highly qualified coaches have been established to select players for the Diamond and Gold and Emerging Categories”.
Sajjad Mehmood, Director Competition PFF has expressed the competitiveness of the CFL as the most prominent feature of the event. “We are having serious deliberations on the timing of CFL as we need to adjust it with Pakistan Premier League”, but anyways it will be staged somewhere towards the end of the year 2018” Sajjad Mehmood revealed about the final dates and timing of the CFL. “CFL will supplement the PPL and B-Division League” Sajjad added.
Haider Ali Daud Khan Chairman Classic Football League expressed his gratitude to the Print and Electronic Media fraternity in attendance and shed light on the various aspects of the league. He had the
opinion that the league will help taking down barriers that have hindered football in Pakistan to some extent. Haider also elaborated the details of CFL, “franchise-based model of CFL will prove to be a boon not only for the players and officials but also for the fans and various organizations attached to the sport, CFL will play a vital
role in development of Football” Haider said . In the first year, there will be minimum 5 teams that will represent the four provinces of the country. For the purpose of the league, the players have been divided into three categories. The first of them is the Platinum category, this includes players who have represented Pakistan at an
international level. Diamond category includes players who have showcased their skills at national level. Third & last, Emerging Gold category will include players who have yet to prove their mettle.
The corporate sector, team owners and sponsors have several beneficial opportunities in CFL. The league will be managed in conjunction with modern practices” Haider said concluding his remarks.
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