Pakistan and its allergy to 'bottom-to-top' pyramid football league system

The pyramid league system has been a point of discussion in Pakistan since 2021, when the country last held a league named the Pakistan Premier League (PPL), which was ‘unrecognised’ by FIFA due to the Ashfaq Hussain Shah-led PFF forcibly taking control of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) office by attacking the property.

Haroon Malik was appointed as the normalisation committee head by FIFA in January 2021. After two months, his committee was disbanded after the attack by Ashfaq and his group in March of the same year.

FIFA did not recognise Ashfaq's PFF body because the Supreme Court of Pakistan interfered in the PFF elections of 2018, after which he became the PFF president.

Hence, it was a third-party interference by the Supreme Court that FIFA does not allow in its statutes.

Ashfaq Hussain announced the PPL in August 2021, and it was later cancelled in November that year after a dozen matches.

Eight departments and four clubs were part of the PPL in 2021, including Karachi United FC, Muslim Club, Chaman FC, Huma FC, and Lyallpur FC.

Fast forward to 2026, five years have passed, and Pakistan still has no league to this date, a country that has an obnoxious obsession with the franchise system and yet refuses to conduct a league properly.

Sri Lankan league model and definition of pyramid league

Sri Lanka has also seen various suspensions and bans by the FIFA governing body. The country has since installed a second-tier league known as the Sri Lanka Champions League (SCL), and they are using the ‘bottom to top’ approach to kickstart a pyramid league system.

Sri Lanka Super League (SSL) is the top tier of the country, which commenced on 11 July. The SCL is the second tier that was held from November to March.

SSL has 10 teams with a promotion and relegation system, and it will be held for three months from July 2026 to October 2026.

This is the proper definition of a two-tier pyramid league system where you start the bottom tier first and then install the top-tier tournament of the country.

Pakistan needs to adopt a similar approach, but many of those in power have entertained the idea of a franchise league rather than a pyramid league in the past regimes.

Pakistan’s obsession with the Indian Super League model (franchise league)

Pakistan is obsessed with the ISL model because it has tried and tested this model in cricket with the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Every casual football fan in Pakistan thinks that a four-week-long franchise league model is the solution to every problem in Pakistan football.

But many coaches in Pakistan believe that for player development in football, it is imperative that a six- to nine-month-long league with 30 matches for each football club should be introduced, and only then will we see the benefits of that league after a decade.

For example, in Sweden, a league where Abdullah Iqbal, Pakistan’s captain, plays, we have seen that it is held from March to November, and each team plays 30 matches in the league as it has 16 teams.

Hence, a 16-team league with promotion and relegation for six months can be the ideal scenario if Pakistan implements the Swedish model.

Issues with ISL franchise model

The basic issue in the Indian Super League model is the franchise fees. There are 14 clubs in the ISL that have to pay the franchise/participation fees of 1 crore Indian rupees each year.

For example, Bengaluru FC has to pay 1.1 crores in 2026, 1.15 crores the next year, and 1.2 crores in 2028, which means that every single year the franchise fees increase.

There is no doubt that the ISL has seen a lot of reforms in 2026, with salary cuts by football clubs being imposed and power getting shifted from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to the 14 clubs in the league.

But one cannot deny that when Reliance Foundation used to pump 100 crores every year through Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) in the Indian Super League till 2025, every club used to pay a franchise fee between 12-18 crores Indian rupees.

Franchise fees that were mandatory from 2014-2025 destroyed the essence of Indian football and also inflated the salaries of players because Reliance was continuously pumping an influx of money into the league.

Once Reliance left, the league collapsed immediately. ISL was reduced to a truncated season in 2026, and salaries plus franchise fees had to be reduced drastically for each club in the league.

Inflated salaries and no cash flow in youth football academies

The inflated salaries in the 2024-25 Indian Super League season reached new heights under the umbrella of Reliance Foundation's cash influx.

Indian players like Anirudh Thappa earned 30 lakh Indian rupees per month during the 2024-25 season, while his net salary per year was 330,000 euros.

Mohun Bagan star Liston Colaco earned 209,000 euros per year, which equals 20 lakh Indian rupees per month. While Sahal Abdul Samad earned 275,000 euros per year, which equals 25 lakh per month.

These are the inflated salaries of some of the top Indian players during the 2024-25 season. Each club earns a certain revenue throughout the season, and out of that revenue, the Indian clubs spent 90% of their budget on player salaries, transfer fees, and franchise fees.

It meant that only 10% of the revenue generated by Indian clubs went to their own youth academies, which was a really small amount. This hampers the development of Indian football players in youth academies, and the franchise fees plus inflated salaries act like a cancer to the Indian football system.

Recently, the co-owner of Chennaiyin FC, Vita Dani, stated that, “It’s a shame if you ask me that so many franchises are putting in so much effort and we are not able to put a team together that can qualify for the FIFA World Cup.”

Franchises in ISL have invested a lot of money in player salaries and transfers but have failed to do anything with their respective youth academies.

In January 2021, Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal wrote an open letter to ISL founder Nita Ambani highlighting severe financial losses exceeding ₹25 crore per season due to the hefty franchise fees imposed by the Reliance Foundation and calling for urgent improvements to the league's economic sustainability.

People in Pakistan think that the franchise league is the solution, but they don’t understand that the baggage that it brings with it is insurmountable, and Pakistan cannot bear the damage that a franchise league can do to youth football.

A franchise model is a cancer that is in its last stage and cannot be treated; hence, prevention is better than cure.