LAHORE: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) received No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination ahead of the national men’s team’s participation in the SAFF Championship in India.
The IPC issued the notification, which was addressed to Director Pakistan Sports Board Shoaib Khoso, on Friday (today).
The Pakistan team will depart for the event, which will be held in Bengaluru, India, from June 21 to July 4, on June 18 from Mauritius — where the Shaheens are currently participating in a four-nation cup.
Pakistan have already submitted visa applications to the Indian embassy in Mauritius.
In the SAFF Cup, Pakistan have been bracketed with India in Pool A which also carries Kuwait and Nepal.
On Thursday, Pakistan High Commission in Mauritius hosted a dinner in the honour of Pakistan team being led by Denmark-based striker Hasan Bashir.
In the four-nation cup, Pakistan have played two matches against hosts Mauritius and Kenya and lost both. They will play their final game against Djibouti on June 17. The tournament is being held on a single league basis. The outfit, which will finish at the summit on points, will be declared the winners.
Kenya are the highest-ranked side in the tournament with 102 ranking. They are followed by Mauritius at 180 ranking. Djibouti stand at 193 and Pakistan are the lowest-ranked side at 195.
Pakistan squad:
Goalkeepers: Saqib Hanif, Salman-ul-Haq, Yousaf Ijaz Butt
Defenders: Muhammad Umar Hayat, Ali Khan Niazi, Muhammad Sufyan, Mamoon Moosa Khan, Syed Abdullah Shah, Haseeb Ahmed Khan, Sardar Wali, Easah Suliman, Abdullah Iqbal
Midfielders: Alamgir Ali Khan Ghazi, Ali Uzair Mahmood, Moin Ahmed, Shayak Dost, Muhammad Waleed Khan, Rahis Nabi, Harun Hamid, Muhammad Adnan Yaqoob
Forwards: Abdul Samad Shahzad, Otis Jan Mohammad Khan, Hassan Naweed Bashir, Muhammad Waheed.
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.