KARACHI: FIFA, the world’s governing body for football, has lifted the suspension of the Pakistan Football Federation that came in April last year due to “undue third-party interference”.

“The decision was taken after FIFA received confirmation that the normalisation committee of the PFF had regained full control of the PFF’s premises and was in a position to manage its finances,” FIFA said in a press release on Thursday. “The decision was taken on June 29.”

FIFA informed the PFF that any undue interference in the latter’s affairs or action that could hinder the fulfilment of the mandate of the normalisation committee “might lead to the PFF being suspended again and/or the imposition of other sanctions” provided for in the FIFA statutes.

“As the deadline by which the normalisation committee was required to fulfil its mandate (June 30 2022) is now no longer realistic, the bureau has also decided to extend the committee’s mandate until June 30, 2023, at the latest. This will enable the latter to finally carry out the tasks assigned to it in full,” it added.

Reacting to the development, Pakistani footballers took to Twitter to celebrate the development.

“Congratulations to all Pakistani children and football players. Hopefully, Pakistani footballers and children will keep the country’s flag rising high on the international stage,” Saddam Hussain, a national soccer player said in a tweet.

Karishma Ali, another player, suggested the PFF hire a “good sports psychologist” and stressed the need for working together for the game in the country.

Former inter-provincial coordination Fehmida Mirza also hailed the development.

“Great news, I did my best to promote football and negotiate with FIFA to have this ban lifted. Now all stakeholders must work hard to promote athletes and take the football movement forward,” she said in a tweet.