Pakistan Football Federation president Syed Mohsen Gilani has started a pioneering initiative like none before. In what will become a usual practice, Mr. Gilani will disburse his allowances from attending Congress and Executive Committee meetings among top-performing players in the country.
The PFF president kicked off the historic initiative by handing his allowance for attending the Congress meeting on 29 December 2025 to Pakistan Men’s Under-20 team player Mohammad Abdullah during a short visit to the Jinnah Stadium, where the team is preparing for the upcoming SAFF Under-20 Championship.
Mr. Gilani oversaw the team’s training session under head coach Shahzad Anwar on Saturday and spoke with the players, who will be departing for the Maldives on March 21 for the SAFF Under-20 Championship.
Reaffirming his commitment that the PFF will continue to do the best for players and coaches in the country, Mr. Gilani said he expected the Men’s Under-20 team to give their all in the SAFF Under-20 Championship, where Pakistan will face India and Bangladesh in the group stage.
Abdullah became the first recipient of the PFF president’s allowance award for his sterling performances at the SAFF Under-17 Championship. The young striker finished as the top scorer with six goals at the event as Pakistan reached the semi-finals.
“I’m not just the president a federation but a president of all the players,” said Mr. Gilani. “Each player wants some form of motivation and what we want is that you all perform well and we will try to support you all as much as we can. This is a small token of appreciation from my side and this practice will continue in the future.”
Abdullah’s father, former Pakistan international Tahir Pervaiz hailed the initiative of the PFF president. “This has never happened in the past and the current lot of players is lucky to have Mr. Gilani as the figurehead of the PFF,” said Mr. Pervaiz.