England's Michael Owen to help Pakistan football

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am proud to partner with <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ImranKhanPTI</a> Kamyab Jawan Sports Drive on behalf of <a href="https://twitter.com/GSVOfficial1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GSVOfficial1</a> to mobilize the youth of Pakistan for football. <a href="https://twitter.com/UdarOfficial?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UdarOfficial</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KamyabJawanPK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KamyabJawanPK</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KJSportsDrive?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KJSportsDrive</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FootballHoga?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FootballHoga</a> <a href="https://t.co/DARiuiX2Dp">pic.twitter.com/DARiuiX2Dp</a></p>— michael owen (@themichaelowen) <a href="https://twitter.com/themichaelowen/status/1467404349966008321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

==

Former England footballer Michael Owen

"I want to focus on the youth of Pakistan by helping to develop a local to global plan for football. I'll try & connect with as many of you in Pakistan through Kamyab Jawan program which is a great initiative from PM Imran Khan & Usman Dar"

"I want to help create new opportunities for the youth of Pakistan to prosper in football. We’ll roll out national trials in a talent-hunt program to fast-track talented young footballers. I want to see some of you in England being developed as professional players"

 

[Giannis]

What do y'all think?

 

[street cricketer]

They should first start by getting the FIFA membership back again.

No point in organising talent camps if the country is banned from playing football due to administrative problems. It's been more than 2 years since Pakistan last played a football game at international level.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

They should first start by getting the FIFA membership back again.

No point in organising talent camps if the country is banned from playing football due to administrative problems. It's been more than 2 years since Pakistan last played a football game at international level.

Wtaf. Even Panjab has a minor nations team!. Absolute joke.

Only English player to win Balon dor. A talent unmatched at the age he broke through. Maybe Bellingham now but a totally different position. Love the Scouse (wool) attempt at Urdu!

 

[Mamoon]

Decent money for doing absolutely nothing. Who would say no?

 

[Mamoon]

What will Owen do? Nothing. He will visit Pakistan a couple of times, get royal treatment and make a few generic statements such as there is a lot of talent in Pakistan, we will look to grow the game in all areas of the country, our objective is to achieve abc in xyz years etc.

No one will follow-up on these objectives and he will walk away when his contract expires without looking back.

He has no KPIs to achieve, no deadlines to meet. He is under no pressure to fulfill any objectives. There will be no accountability.

Pakistan football needs a big name for marketing purposes and Owen is happy to lend his name because he has nothing better to do.

He doesn’t mind lower his status to the point where he is essentially becoming a cheerleader for Pakistan football because no one is going to hire him as a coach or a technical director.

Imagine Pakistan ringing someone like Zidane if he would be interested in working with Imran to “mobilize the youth of Pakistan for football”.

He will probably not even know who Imran and Pakistan are and when he finds out, he will either hang up the phone or respond with a few expletives.

The reality is that Pakistan has zero future in football. The football world is extremely mature and saturated and it is such a technical and physical sport that you require a lot of heavy investment in coaching, fitness, nutrition etc. to become competitive.

India have spent a huge amount of money in football over the last decade and has associated itself with a number of top European clubs and players and has a even hosted a FIFA tournament at the U-17 level but it is still 104 in the ranking and will probably never break into the top 70.

Pakistan has put all its sporting eggs in cricket’s basket since the 90s and they are still struggling to assemble a world class side.

Imran Khan needs to focus on the real issues of Pakistan and not waste everyone’s times with these useless gimmicks and projects. No one in the country gives two hoots about how the football team does when they are struggling to put food on the table.

After destroying Pakistan’s economy and making life Hell for everyone, Imran should realize that beating a dead horse like Pakistan football is not going to divert attention from the core issues.

 

[James]

Owen is a bit of a character. Clearly he was a world class footballer and one of the great English talents. But he has butted heads with quite a few people in the game since his retirement, including colleagues who he played alongside. Ruffling feathers seems to be his current speciality. This also is a typically leftfield/interesting move from him.