SAFF Championship 2023: There could be another India vs Pakistan deadlock on the cards but this time on the lush field of football. The Pakistan Football Team is yet to get NOC from their Government regarding the tour for SAFF Cup 2023 to India.
The Normalisation Committee (NC) of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has been requested to furnish all the necessary paperwork that was recently filed to the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) in order to obtain NOC for the tours to India and Mauritius. Speaking with “The News,” a PSB representative acknowledged that recently submitted paperwork to the PSB was deficient in the details needed to provide a NOC for international travel, particularly when it comes to touring India.
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The PSB official asserted that there is a prescribed process and time limit for requesting a NOC that must be adhered to.
“The team is to take a trip to India for the South Asian Football Championship. You need a special NOC for the tour to India and besides the Interior Ministry, the permission from the Foreign Office will also be required. The submitted papers lacked required documents and information. In fact, these documents were more about sharing information rather than seeking NOC from the government. We have asked them to submit fresh documents,” the PSB official said.
“There is a set procedure for seeking NOC. Every federation will have to follow this. When it comes to touring India, the requirement gets even tougher,” he added.
The men’s football squad is now undergoing a national camp to be preparation for the trips. In addition to practising for the SAFF Championship 2023, which will begin on June 22 in Bengaluru, India, Pakistani athletes are also getting ready for a four-nation tournament in Mauritius.
One of the NC members, Shahid Khokhar, responded when he was contacted late on Thursday night that new paperwork that complied with all standards had been lodged with the PSB.
Pakistan Football Team SQUAD: SAFF Championship 2023
The 28 Pakistan players that started training at the Punjab Stadium, Lahore, from Thursday are: Goalkeepers: Saqib Hanif, Salman ul Haq, Abdul Basit and Yousaf Ijaz Butt Defenders: Umar Hayat, Ali Khan Niazi, Muhammad Sufyan, Umer Saeed, Mamoon Moosa Khan, Abdullah Shah, Haseeb Ahmed Khan, Sardar Wali, Sohail, Easah Suliman and Abdullah Iqbal
Midfielders: Alamgir Ali Khan Ghazi, Ali Uzair Mahmood, Moin Ahmed, Shayak Dost, Waleed Khan, Rahis Nabi, Harun Arrashid Faheem Hamid, Umair Ali and Adnan Yaqoob Forwards: Abdul Samad Shahzad, Otis Jan Mohammad Khan, Hassan Naweed Bashir, and Muhammad Waheed.
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