The Pakistan team has reached Bangalore ahead of the scheduled kick off for the SAFF Championships. From Mauritius the Pakistan team boarded two flights. 6 players and 3 officials reached Bangalore at 6 AM in the morning while the remaining team reached the venue at 12:30 PM. There has been no change in the schedule and the two rival nations are set to lock horns in the field at 7:30 PM.
The Pakistan team were held up for two days when they failed to acquire their visas to travel to India. It was after a two-day delay when the Pakistan Football Federation got the visas approved. The team is currently in Mauritius and will reach India in Bombay from where they will travel to Bengaluru tomorrow.
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The team was set to travel on Sunday but were delayed after failing to get their visas. The Pakistan Football Federation got their NOC clearance from the Pakistani Ministry on last Friday and were ready to travel on Sunday which was then met with a small hindrance.
There are claims that the visiting team could request for the match to be rescheduled as the Pakistan team wouldn’t get adequate time to practice and be ready for the tournament. As per reports from Geo Pakistan, the rescheduling of the match can only take place if the Pakistan Football team fails to reach Bengaluru by Tuesday night.
India begins their SAFF Championship title defense on 21st June when they lock horns with arch rivals Pakistan at the Kanteerava.
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SAFF Championship Groups –
Group A – India, Kuwait, Nepal, Pakistan
Group B – Lebanon, Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh
The games are slated to take place at Bengaluru’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium from June 21 to July 4. The men’s football squad from Pakistan is in Group A with the hosts India, Kuwait, and Nepal. On June 21, they will play India, their fiercest adversary.
Kuwait and Nepal will play the first match of the SAFF Championship 2023 on June 21 in Bengaluru, followed by India and Pakistan later that day. On June 22, Lebanon takes on Bangladesh in the morning while the Maldives takes on Bhutan in the afternoon in Group B. The semi-finals, which will take place on July 1, will include the top two teams from each group, with the final taking place on July 4.
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