Squad named for SAFF U17 Championship in Bhutan [The News]

LAHORE: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has revealed the 23-member squad for the SAFF U17 Men’s Championship 2024, which will take place in Bhutan from September 20 to 30.

Pakistan, placed in Group B, will compete against Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.

The team’s campaign will begin on September 21 against Nepal at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, followed by matches against hosts Bhutan on September 23 and Sri Lanka on September 25.

Sajjad Mehmood is the head coach, Hassan Baloch the assistant coach and Nouman Ibrahim the goalkeeping coach.

The team:

Defenders: Abdul Rehman, M. Husnain Saleem, Najeem Khan, Sameer Ahmed, Ubaid Ullah Khan, Majid Ali, Syed Muhammad Aabis Raza and Umar Javed

Midfielders: Abdul Samad, Muhammad Faraz, Farhad, Haroon Rashed, Hikmat Ullah, Khobaib Khan, M. Shahab Ahmed and Muhammad Khan

Forwards: Abdul Ghani, Subhan Karim, Shahraf Khan and Muhammad Talha Khan

Goal Keepers: Aadil Ali Khan, Ghulam Abbas and Kashif.

Published in The News, 16 September 2024

Pak U17 team awaiting clearance for departure to Bhutan

FAISALABAD: The Pakistan U-17 football team is awaiting clearance for departure to Bhutan for the SAFF U-17 Championship. The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is optimistic that the NOC will be granted in time.

According to sources, the NOC for the team’s participation in the SAFF U-17 Championship remains under review. With the championship set to kick off on September 20, the team is scheduled to depart Monday afternoon.

Insiders reveal that the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has communicated a positive response to the PFF on the NOC process. The PSB has informed the PFF that it has forwarded the PFF’s request to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to expedite the issuance of the required documentation.

Earlier, the PSB had returned the PFF’s request due to certain objections. However, after considering the PFF’s position, the process was resumed. The PFF had expressed its inability to resubmit the application due to time constraints. The PSB has since advised the PFF that, going forward, no documents will be processed without the chairman’s signature.

Published in The News, 16 September 2024