Pakistan's football chiefs have invited Diego Maradona to visit the country and help grow the sport as he has in the UAE after the Argentina legend disparagingly compared his own association to the South Asian nation's.
The 53-year-old accused the Argentine Football Association (AFA) of "understanding as much about football as Pakistan does".
Naveed Haider, a senior official of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), welcomed the fact Maradona was talking about his country and urged him to visit to lift the game's profile.
"I would love Maradona to come to Pakistan and help Pakistan," said Haider, noting the Argentine's sports ambassador role for Dubai Sports Council .
"He plays a very effective role [in the UAE] and we welcome him to come and develop football here."
Maradona became Honorary Ambassador of Sports in Dubai last year following an unsuccessful spell at the helm of Arabian Gulf League side Al Wasl between 2011-2012. The former a role that he will continue after signing a one-year extention to his contract with Dubai Sports Council.
Pakistan, ranked a lowly 158th in the world, have come a long way despite their footballing struggles and the PFF believe that Maradona's global appeal could help grow the game further in the country, as per his role in Dubai.
Pakistan have climbed in the FIFA rankings from a low of 172 last year to their current position, and recently drew with higher-ranked Malaysia, a notable result for the country.
Tariq Lutfi, head coach of the Pakistani champions Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) said Maradona's comments were out-of-date.
"He would be right if he was talking 12 years back. But nowadays the federation is taking many steps including doing a lot for its youth programme," he said.
