Former National Soccer team skippers, Ghulam Rabbani, Sharafat Ali, Haroon Yousuf, Jaffar Khan, Zahid Hameed, Tanveer Ahmed, Zafar Iqbal, Shaukat Mufti and Imtiaz Butt have hailed Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)'s President Faisal Saleh Hayat for taking tangible steps in boosting football in rural and urban areas of Pakistan and making spell from 2003 to 2010 as "Golden Years of Pakistan Football."
They also praised PFF Chief's dedication, devotion, commitment and true love with football who pushed the POA to include football in the contingent by offering to bear the expenses of the team's participation in the Asian Games. It may be noted that the PFF President also wrote a letter to Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani asking him for reinstatement of U-23 Pakistan football team in Asian Games. The lovers of the game of soccer are grateful to PFF, which is on the way to PFF Vision Plan 2020 and Vision Pakistan Project," said Sharafat. Jaffar, who led Pakistan to gold in 2004 SAG, said: "The game of football has developed with leaps and bounds over the last seven years in the country."