The main backer of a new top-tier football league in Pakistan, Farhan Junejo, has told SportBusiness that his Pakistan Football League (PFL) project is still on course for success, despite a burgeoning dispute with sports marketing company Redstrike.
Redstrike announced its withdrawal from the project on September 25 in a statement on social media, after helping the league to build links with English Premier League clubs and ex-footballers.
UK-based Redstrike had said the fledgling league was now “facing significant doubt after several key creditors have not been paid”.
The PFL is the latest attempt to begin a professional football league in Pakistan after the country’s last functioning top-tier league folded in 2018.
Junejo, chairman of the PFL’s commercial rights-holder, told SportBusiness that Redstrike and the PFL “parted ways” because the agency was “not able to deliver on its committed KPIs”.
However, in a statement given to SportBusiness, Redstrike claims it exited the project due to non-payment and denied any performance-related reason for its withdrawal.
“Redstrike categorically denies it failed to deliver on any KPIs related to the PFL. It facilitated serious interest of involvement in the league from several Premier League teams, among multiple other activities to grow the league and the sport in Pakistan.
“Redstrike was not paid for three months despite repeated requests. Prior to this it had either not been paid in full or paid late for its services. It believes passionately in the potential for a football league in Pakistan and would like to remain involved in realising this vision in the future under a different structure.”
Junejo rejects this version of events.
“The mission of the PFL and football in Pakistan shall continue – it has not been harmed,” he said. “It seems like a classic case of sour grapes when an agency is unable to continue in a project of this size and scale. It’s nothing more than a business arrangement coming to an end.”
The PFL appeared to be gathering momentum earlier this year, with a gala launch event held in Lahore on June 4 attended by former England strikers Michael Owen (pictured) and Emile Heskey. PFL executives were bullish, saying the planned eight-team, city-based league would revolutionise football in Pakistan.
Redstrike helped bring Owen and Heskey to Pakistan, with the former installed as the PFL’s ‘global ambassador’.
However, the messy nature of Redstrike’s exit has cast doubt on the league’s commercial viability, according to some sources. There remain significant infrastructural hurdles, including ensuring sufficient pitches of high quality. It is also understood that a media rights agreement is not yet in place.
Redstrike said last week that its exit from the league came “amid growing concerns regarding the league’s funding and unpaid invoices to suppliers”.
Zabe Khan, a Pakistan sports industry veteran who had been chief executive of Global Soccer Ventures, the precursor to the PFL, had already signalled his distance from the project last month.
On August 11, Khan tweeted: “I would like to clarify that I have no affiliation with the Pakistan Football League (PFL). I am neither a shareholder nor an employee of the organization. Additionally, I no longer have any association with Global Soccer Ventures (GSV).”
Despite the growing storm, Junejo insists the league’s future is not in doubt and is aiming for to launch early next year.
The website of the league’s commercial rights-holder, PFL UK Holdings, states that it is a “UK-based group which is fully committed to oversee the delivery of the Pakistan Football League. PFL UK Holdings is the founding pillar and architect of international football in Pakistan with the strategic intent to drive foreign development investment.”
Pakistan waits for top-tier football
Pakistan has had a long wait for a professional football league.
The semi-professional Pakistan Premier League, organised by the PFF, had traditionally been at the top of Pakistan’s football pyramid. However, it has been inactive since 2018.
There have in recent years been numerous other attempts and statements of ambition to set up a new league.
Earlier this year, The Dawn newspaper reported that in 2020 consultancy firm KPMG had started “an exciting project on football in Pakistan for a prominent client” – a football franchise league in Pakistan. It was reported that Romy Gai, now Fifa’s chief business officer, was part of the team KPMG assisted.
The Blitz agency, long involved in Pakistani cricket, has also sought to help create a football league. Franchise owners in the country’s T20 league, the Pakistan Super League, have also publicly stated their plans to do so.
One well-placed source told SportBusiness there is yet another league in the works, separate to the PFL, which has strong financial backing.
Pakistan has a large population with an increasing passion for football. On June 6, the country recorded its highest attendance for a football match, when over 20,000 attended Pakistan’s Fifa World Cup second-round qualifier against Saudi Arabia in Islamabad.
However, the sport is generally held back by disorganised governance and a number of failed attempts to start a privately-held league. In July 2022, Fifa lifted its suspension of the PFF after it was suspended in April 2021 because of “undue third-party interference”.
The move came after a group of local administrators took control of the federation from Fifa’s normalisation committee. The committee was installed by Fifa after infighting between rival factions within the PFF.
On Thursday, the PFF’s normalisation committee completed its provincial and regional elections, as mandated by Fifa.
Redstrike
Redstrike was founded in 2014 by former Manchester United international managing director Mike Farnan, who attended the gala event in Lahore earlier this year. It was previously part of the group of companies belonging to the 777 Partners private investment group.
Beyond its UK headquarters, the company has offices in Malaysia, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia.
In 2018, Redstrike was accredited by the UK Government as a ‘British Export Champion for Sport’, in recognition of its development of sporting competitions and infrastructure in emerging markets.
Some of Redstrike’s previous overseas projects include agreements with Asia Rugby, Innovative Production Group, and the Nigerian Professional Football League.