Following the indefinite postponement of the Pakistan tour of Palestine scheduled for end of this month, football fans across South Asia heard good news about a likely Pakistan vs India football friendly series to be played in July 2011 in UK with TouchSky Sports (TSS) organising this exclusive trip for the football-mad Asian community of Britain.
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Director Marketing, Sardar Naveed Haider Khan, had earlier expressed hope of the All India Federation (AIFF) agreeing to play 3 matches against eternal rivals Pakistan in UK in preparation of the upcoming World Cup qualification Rounds 1 and 2 for Asian countries beginning in June-July 2011.
Pakistan face Bangladesh on June 29 and July 3 in Round One, with winning facing Lebanon in Round Two on July 24 and 28. India got a direct bye to Round Two where they will face United Arab Emirates (UAE) on July 24 and 28.
Today, the AIFF Executive Committee approved the UK Pak-India series and agreed to send in either its Olympic U23 side or their U21 ‘Indian Arrows’ side from the I League to help their young players get some much needed international exposure.
Following the approval, both the PFF and AIFF have sent in NOC requests to their respective Interior/Home Ministries for final approval to allow both federations to prepare for this landmark event.
The last time a Pak-India series was held was back in the summer of 2005 when India played Pakistan in Quetta (1-1), Peshawar (1-0 to India) and Lahore (3-0 to Pakistan) that was won by the hosts on goal difference.
Such a landmark series will not only help boost warming bilateral relations between the two countries, but also allow them to access the still untapped potential of the football-loving South Asian expatriate community thriving across many urban and metropolitan centres of UK.
Sardar Naveed Haider Khan also said that the players of both the teams would be seen by professional club scouts from all over UK and may be offered the chance to move there which will be great for the game in our region.
More news on the tour specifics will follow.
How do i play for the national team.
Thank you
by first playing at a genuine pro or semi-pro level first and foremost ;)
Pakistan should also get some practice matches with clubs in england.
Fantastic news for both the nations..our u-23 which comprises 90% Indian Arrows players is a highly talented bunch and wud benefit from such exposure..ould Pakistan be playing with the senior team coz they have upcoming WCQ soon after??
Yes, It is likely that Pakistan will in fact use its senior team for these games.
Hopefully by the time the UK series takes place, we will have edged past Bangladesh to face Lebanon in Round Two of qualifiers!
But the news we got was that the UK series is supposed to take place in June..In a way it wud help our Olympic team to play against Qatar on June 18 and help Pakistan prepare for round 1 of WCQ…though it may get extended to July considering the clearances that it requires..
Awesome! :D
Nice!
Our boys should be more concentrated because if htey play good game there, they can be scouted by many clubs there
GOOD LUCK BOYS!
I m still stuck to this point to get a foreign coach for the team to even qualify for the second round of the WCQ 2014. Bangladesh cud be an easy prey but never underestimate them. they have a better coach… we have a golden opportunity to get to the second round and if we have a top quality coach and some foreign players in our team we can easily get past Lebanon in the second round as well.we need good strikers.. only foreign players can make a good team for pakistan…local players are not even aware of the basics of the game..dribling, tackling and passing is just not football.. players should be technical and physically fit and mentally fit… local players are part itmers and ammatteur players who are just deprived of the basic necessities of life.how can they perform at professional levels when they dont even have a basic living standard.. most of them are from poor back grounds,, (no offfence to anyone). but the reality is that our players need to brought up and trained in a professional manner. they should be professionals and not part timers. PLZ Plz plz plz.. get a better trainer for the team…make history PFF.
i think Pak India should play more games
I’m sure it will be entertaining. I will definitly be viewing the game live and hope to meet the man Lutfi himself. Let’s get behind the team. One lesson I have learned coaching at Notts County this season, every player is special and has a lot to offer. Lutfi has more time with the boys than I did with the Pak international XI team for 2 days last year. A practice match would certainly help……… Maybe Notts County FC!!!
Considering that the Indian team has gotten considerably stronger over the past few years, and their U-23 team is playing as a cohesive unit with both strikers in mind-numbing form it will be quite difficult for the Pakistan team to prevent them from scoring. For the Indian team, it will be good practice for the Olympic qualifiers.
Awesum news finally. I am waiting eagerly to watch this match. Our Under23 side and even under21 side are talented bunch who can be a nightmare for pak team…but for me as we too have WC qualifying match against UAE it could have been a better idea to play senior side or rather than under 23 or 21 for practice.
And more ever , we have new coach Armando C, who might bring new players( reshuffle) in the team. This would have got the whole new team an experience to bind as a unit and play wonderful soccer.
Anyways..eagerly waiting for the match!
naveed akram should be back in the team..he is a goood striker and a goal scorer…he scores goals and no one can forget his classic shots against giants Japan in Doha 2006 when he smashed a goal from almost 20 yards out of the D ,, and then a brilliant score against UAE .. both were great passes from EEssa though…salman sharida was the coach at that time.. pakistan’s got talent. we just need to organize, manage and train them properly…
Naveed is a defender (Right back) and at the moment he is busy getting his groove on in Nepal ;)
Gr8 News…
@ Rehan Mirza….. pls pls pls organise a match with Notts County !!!!!!!!
That’s awesome. It will be excellent for Pakistan to gain some much needed games against a side that is closely matched with the Bangladesh team.
Hey, PFF. I was just wondering, would you guys be able to place some video links up on your home screen?
For instance, highlights against the Palestine team, and even the Malaysian team earlier this year?…
And even some practice training sessions of the Pakistan team.. I haven’t seen them play as a whole for a long time, especially with the whole first team and the newer players as well. Would be good to see them out and about playing with the ball at training even.
Thanks guys,
Keep the work up
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