MUSCAT — Professional Football League in Oman! It is a dream for many and is also part of the election manifesto provided by the newly elected board of the Oman Football Association. The dream is certain to turn true, but when and how is the probing question of many.

However, the OFA chairman Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, had a few answers for that when he met few scribes yesterday at his office. Obviously he had many things to say especially after returning from Kuala Lumpur having called on Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed bin Hammam.

“I had a marathon and fruitful meeting with all the AFC officials and the main focus was on the Vision Asia programme and the implementation of the professional league in Oman,” said Sayyid Khalid, stating that OFA is moving in the right direction as per the vision of the new board.

“AFC has a vision so do we, and my intention was to have a common vision on the same level, which will help in realising our programmes the most effective way,” he added.

“As we all know under Vision Asia the introduction of professional league is the priority and we need to take steps to bring into reality the plans. We have an objective to work with a target of introducing the professional system by the calendar 2009-10, but as we all know it is not an easy task and the time frame could extend to the 2010-11 or 2011-12 season,” said Sayyid Khalid, but exuded confidence of succeeding as fast as possible.

“Professional League is a complex process, which needs many fundamental changes in the existing system. There are many issues including the privatisation of the clubs to be taken care of and for that to happen we need the big business houses of Oman to come forward and turn the game into an industry,” the OFA chief explained.

“Initially we need to have many workshops to educate the clubs and also try to identify at least eight clubs, which could turn professional to start with,” he added. “What I want to point out is, it is high time everyone realises that football is a profitable industry and can reap benefits.”

He added, “We need to work with purpose and gradually turn Oman football into a flourishing industry.”

Meanwhile, he also praised Oman’s win against Singapore on Sunday. “I am pleased that coach Julio Cesar Ribas, in such a short span, was able to inculcate good spirit and a high level of discipline among the players,” said Sayyid Khalid. “This is a good sign and hope there is only room for improvement from here on.”

Sayyid Khalid also thanked the fan support for Oman yesterday (an unusual sight during friendlies) and requested them to turn up in larger numbers for the next warm-up against Kuwait. “Frankly speaking I would like to have a full house for our World Cup qualifying match against Bahrain on February 6,” he said with expectations.

Meanwhile the OFA chief also hinted to shift the football base from the Bausher complex to the Seeb complex. “We will be temporarily moving our base from Bausher to Seeb and we are also planning to set up a gymnasium there,” he elaborated.

With reference to the Goal Project for which a ceremonial start was made some months ago, Sayyid Khalid said that OFA will call for fresh tender for the designs of the proposed headquarters for Oman football. He also agreed that the project might not come up at the earlier proposed venue too.

“We have two alternatives now and those are Bausher and Seeb,” he said.

He also announced that OFA has lined-up two more friendlies for the national team after the Bahrain match. The national team will play Yemen and United Arab Emirates on March 15 and 19 respectively before the next World Cup qualifier against Thailand on March 26.

Sayyid Khalid also revealed that coach Ribas has been asked to submit a detailed plan and programme leading to the Gulf Cup. “This programme may also include a mini-tournament before the Gulf Cup,” he explained.

Meanwhile, it was also learnt that the meeting of general secretaries of the AGCC football associations in relation to the 19th Gulf Cup will be held on February 16 and the heads of the associations will meet on the following day.

Bahrain referee Jaffar Al Khabas will officiate in the Oman’s friendly against Kuwait tomorrow.