Hosted in the city of Yazd in neighbouring Iran, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-13 Festival of Football began with Pakistan U13 team playing two matches today recording impressive results.
In first game, Pak U13 boys beat Nepal U13 2-0 to get off to a flying start with a well-deserved win. The second game of the day saw Pakistan U13 hold a gutsy Bangladesh U13 side 2-2 to record a share of the spoils. Malir native Salman Rahim from Karachi is the captain of the Pak U13 side in the event.
Nine teams including Iran, hosts Yazd, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are featuring in the two-week annual youth extravaganza that began on 17 May and ends on 23 May 2011.
In each match, a team will be required to field 11 players of the 22-man squad in the first half and the remaining 11 players in the second half in a bid to provide opportunity to all the players representing a side.