Otis Khan was ready and waiting in the dressing room with 90 minutes to go until Pakistan’s World Cup qualifier with Cambodia two weeks ago when manager Stephen Constantine delivered the news that he would not be able to play.
Despite already representing the national team six times since making his debut in June 2023 and holding a Pakistani passport, word had reached the Pakistan Football Federation that FIFA had questions over the Manchester-born winger’s eligibility.
What should have been a simple case of a player with dual nationality qualifying to play for the country via his grandfather’s heritage — as is common under FIFA’s rules on international eligibility — has become an altogether more complicated and frustrating scenario for the 28-year-old. At the core of the issue is the fact that Khan’s grandfather Kanwar Jamil Mohammed Khan was born in New Dehli, British India, prior to the 1947 partition, when he moved to Pakistan along with millions of others upon the founding of the modern-day country before later emigrating to England.
“FIFA have mentioned that it’s a unique case because India and Pakistan were the same country until 1947 when the partition happened,” Khan tells The Athletic. “There will be millions and millions of people in the same boat with grandfathers who are Pakistani citizens. But they said it’s a case that they haven’t seen before and they couldn’t rush it there and then to say I was fine to play against Cambodia.
“They need to investigate it a bit more and make sure everything is right, which it is. All my family are in Faisalabad, Pakistan, and they have been for years. They have property there, citizenship and identity cards, everything that they need to be a Pakistani citizen. So if anyone is saying that’s the case for me (doubting Pakistani citizenship) then you’re basically saying that about millions and millions of other people as well.
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“I got my passport before I got called up for the South Asian Championship, about a month before. I’ve got my identity card which allows me to get into Pakistan without any visa; I’ve got the passport as well. So I’ve got every bit of documentation to show that I’m a Pakistani citizen. My grandad passed away before I was born so he didn’t get to see me play. I’ll always class myself as Pakistani heritage because I know I am so for me there’s no disputing that, it’s just a case of FIFA looking into it a bit further.
“The day before I did an interview with FIFA for their website, speaking about the game coming up. Before that, I was the second Pakistani in history to be on the FIFA (EA Sports FC) video game, which was crazy. It was literally an hour and a half before kick-off that the manager pulled me and said that FIFA had not said yes or no but they hadn’t quite understood my case yet and were looking into it before the second leg. But it didn’t get sorted in time.”
Khan missed both of the two-legged World Cup play-off matches against Cambodia and his case is still being processed by FIFA as he returns to action in League Two with Grimsby Town. A resolution could be in sight, which could be a welcome chance for him to finally play in Pakistan itself having missed the team’s first-ever World Cup qualifying win — a 1-0 aggregate victory, which was also their first home game for eight years.
“I’ve never played in Pakistan. The game against Cambodia should have been it, so there was a big build-up and I was looking forward to it and all my family over there were looking forward to it, too.
“All the games I’ve played for Pakistan have been in Mauritius or India. But I still went to the game to watch and it was surprising, to be honest. Not having a game there for eight years, it was a two o’clock kick-off so people were at work and in school but we still got nearly 10,000 people turning out and it was a great atmosphere. You can see if they push it in the right way, and we keep going the right direction on and off pitch, then it’ll be a really good opportunity to grow things there.”
ONE OF OUR OWN!
Despite not wearing our jersey on the field, you’ve etched your place in our hearts as one of our most special players. Your loyalty, passion, and commitment make you super special to us. You’re not just a part of our team; you’re a part of our soul. See you soon pic.twitter.com/SvTicOxO1i
— Pakistan Football Federation (@TheRealPFF) October 21, 2023
After starting out as an academy player at Manchester United before being released aged 15, Khan’s career has taken him to clubs throughout the EFL including Sheffield UnitedMansfield Town and Leyton Orient before his 2022 move to Grimsby.
His first call-up for Pakistan came in June under then-manager Shahzad Anwar alongside fellow English-Pakistani players Adil Nabi and Easah Suliman, as he featured in their South Asian Football Federation Championship campaign. The tournament, held in India, saw Pakistan defeated in all three games against the hosts, Nepal and Kuwait. Ranked 197th in the world, Pakistan have never qualified for a World Cup and face Saudi Arabia and Jordan at the next qualifying stage for the 2026 tournament.
Khan says his case is one of FIFA’s “top priorities” as the Pakistan Football Federation look to get him cleared to play in time for the next round of matches, with hopes of a resolution as early as next week.
“The South Asian Championship and the other games that we played were all building towards the World Cup qualifier to make history,” he says. “The closer we got to it, then finding out I wasn’t playing was devastating. The lads pulled through, they won the game and we’ve got another game in four weeks, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that it should be sorted by then and I can continue on this journey.
“It’s a dream, isn’t it? The first step was winning a World Cup qualifier because we’d never done that and now we’ve achieved that it’s about taking the next step towards that goal. They’re planning ahead, they’re not rushing things or looking too far ahead just because they’ve achieved that goal now. The World Cup is still a long way away.
“We’re playing against Saudi Arabia and they went to the World Cup and beat Argentinaso it’ll be a tough game but we’re looking forward to the next stage and seeing how far we can go.
“Pakistan are a nation of 240million people so when they get it going and get the proper investment and things are run right, they’ll be a good football nation. Look at India and the work they have done with the league and how they’re doing internationally now; it’s not going to be an overnight thing.
“But in the future, in the next 20 years, it’s definitely achievable for Pakistan to go to a World Cup.”
(Top photo: David Horton – CameraSport via Getty Images)
