Pakistan Football News Roundup: Player News, FIFA Ranking & League Update

We are starting a new PakFutball Roundup series, bringing together some of the smaller Pakistan football stories and updates from the past few days in one place.

With the FIFA ASEAN Cup now over, attention has quickly shifted back to club football, domestic competitions, player updates and developments around the proposed Pakistan Football League. Here is what has happened since.

Abdul Samad gets former Abdullah Iqbal coach

Pakistan international Abdul Samad Shahzad has a new head coach at Kolding IF, with the Danish club appointing Karl Marius Aksum.

Aksum previously spent almost three years at Mjällby, where he worked with Pakistan captain Abdullah Iqbal. He was initially an assistant coach during Mjällby's historic 2025 Swedish title-winning season before later becoming head coach and winning the 2025/26 Svenska Cupen.

Mjällby relieved Aksum of his duties on September 8, and he has now made a quick return to management. His Kolding contract reportedly runs until the summer of 2029, with his first match expected to come against Hobro this weekend.

Read the official Kolding IF announcement.

Pakistan move up to 197th in FIFA rankings

Pakistan have moved up one place to 197th in the latest FIFA men's world rankings released on October 7.

Pakistan now have 839.03 ranking points. Despite losing around 1.25 points, they moved above the Cayman Islands, who dropped below them in the standings.

View the latest ranking on FIFA

National U-17 Championship reaches semi-finals

The PFF National U-17 Championship has reached the semi-final stage, with Sindh Indus facing KPK Himalayas and Punjab Harappa taking on Balochistan Hingol on October 8.

KPK have been one of the standout teams so far, finishing their group unbeaten with 13 goals scored and none conceded.

The PFF has also announced that the semi-finals and the October 10 final will be broadcast live on PTV Sports on television, while online viewers will be able to watch on Tamasha.

Read more from Dawn.

Abdullah Iqbal's Mjällby make unwanted cup history

Abdullah Iqbal and Mjällby suffered a shock Svenska Cupen exit after losing 1-0 to Swedish third-tier side FC Trollhättan.

The result means the reigning Svenska Cupen champions will not even play in next season's group stage — the first time the previous season's cup winners have failed to reach the following edition's group stage.

Pakistan left-back Mohammad Fazal has already successfully made it through Round 2 with Nordic United, securing his team's place in the Svenska Cupen group stage.

Read more about Mjällby's defeat from Fotbollsbilagan.

Market value decrease for some Pakistan NT players

The latest market value updates have brought decreases for several Pakistan national team players.

Alamgir Ghazi has dropped from €125k to €75k, while Umar Nawaz and Kaleemullah have both fallen from €50k to €10k. Abdullah Shah has also dropped from €50k to €25k.

There were increases for some players as well, with Ali Khan Niazi, Syed Ali Raza and Abdul Rehman all receiving their first €25k market valuations after previously being listed at €0.

Pakistan Football League decision expected soon

According to journalist Zeeshan Shafi on X, the PFF's long-delayed decision regarding the Pakistan Football League is now expected by the end of October or during the first week of November.

He reports that Trans Consortium has invited PFF Executive Committee members to Lahore for a presentation and workshop on its proposed league, while the PFL is also expected to make its own presentation before the ExCo ahead of a final decision.