Lahore, 27 March: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)’s President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat has approved 34 players in the build up for National U13 Football team for appearance in AFC U13 Festival of Football 2011. Various activities have been lined up for the Festivals, including matches, ‘C’ Certificate Coaching Course, Head Coaches’ Workshop, Preparatory Course for Referees and S2S Programme.
Jaranwala’s little upcoming lad Faizan Nasir, who will celebrate his 11th birthday on 19 June 2011 is also included in the Camp after fine display in 3-day trials that saw 125 grass root level players turned up to show their talents.
The National Camp will help PFF in making strong Pakistan U13 team which will take on host Iran, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Maldives, Afghanistan in the South Asian Zone of nine-nation AFC U13 Festival of Football at Iran from 10-23 May 2011. Iran’s Yazd City will host the South Asian Festival. Last year, the same event was held in Hamedan City, Iran, that remained unforgettable for fine display Pakistan U14 booters. IRIFF used to rotate the event annually with the provinces or cities hosting the event every year.
The thirty-four probables called for the Camp are Faizan Nasir, Muhammad Tayyab, Mohsin Javed, Mohammad Shoaib, Usama Waheed, Wajahat Ramzan, Syed Hamid Ali, Muzammil Illyas, Salman Raheem, Farooq Khalid, Saeed Babar, Muneer Ahmed, Karam Hussain, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shahbaz, Mohammad Yamin, Mohammad Ihsan, Shoaib Nisar, Abdul Qadeer Khan, Bilal Yaqoob, Adnan Ashraf, Faisal Hassan, Waheed Ghaffar, Babar Ahmed, Mohammad Junaid, Ubaid Asghar, Mohammad Saqib, Zahid Hussain, Raja Hassan Ullah Khan, Asad Ali, Haroon Afzal, Shanno Rafiq, Zain Ul Abedin and Zohaib Riaz.
Faisal, also AFC ExCo member and AFC Legal Committee Chairman, stressed that AFC’s Vision Asia team is confident the 2011 Festival of Football will be bigger and better than ever as the continent continues its drive to lift the standard of football. The Festival is focused on increasing the football playing base, starting at the grassroots level, and providing a positive and enjoyable life experience for children.
Representatives from all 46 AFC member associations will be participating in the Festivals. AFC Grassroots and Youth Department has finalized the locations and dates of the same for the year 2011. The West Asia Festival had been completed at Qatar, while the Central Asian Festival will be held in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) from 4-17 April. Beijing, China, will host the East Asian Festival from 15-28 April. The Festival for ASEAN will take place in Sabah, Malaysia, from 24 May- 6 June.