KARACHI: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is trying to arrange a two-week training tour for the national Under-22 team ahead of their vital assignment of the Asian Cup Qualifiers to be held in Saudi Arabia from June 23 to July 3.Although Pakistan Under-22 team will be featuring in the Al-Nakba International Football tournament in Palestine from May 14 to 22, in the next thirty days the PFF wants to provide further preparations to the team by sending it to any Gulf state. “We are trying our best to arrange a two-week tour for the team after Palestine’s trip and for that we have made correspondence with Oman and Bahrain and hopefully we will be able to receive an encouraging response,” PFF secretary Col Ahmad Yar Khan Lodhi told ‘The News’ on Thursday.
He said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was also contacted, but the authorities there did not give any positive response because their boys are aboard.
“Every country is busy in preparations for different assignments and it usually becomes difficult to arrange a tour but we are trying our best to manage a few days’ tour for our side so that they could play at least four matches ahead of the event in Saudi Arabia,” Lodhi said.
In the Asian Cup Qualifiers group matches, Pakistan will compete with Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sri Lanka, Palestine and Kyrgyzstan.
Meanwhile, after a recent tour of Thailand, Pakistan team will start its preparations in Lahore from May 7 for the international event in Palestine.
Sources said that coach Zavisa Miilosavljevic has also picked six new players for the camp at the National Under-22 Football Championship being held in Bahawalpur.
The News
Friday, May 04, 2012