Pakistan football squad granted visa for SAFF Championship in India

Bengaluru: After securing visas to enter India on Monday, the way has been cleared for the Pakistani football team to compete in the SAFF Football Championship.

The Pakistani team, according to sources, is searching for the earliest flight leaving Mauritius in order to go to India in time for their first match against India on June 21 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here. The game is slated to begin at 7:30 PM.

However, their travel itinerary was not yet known.

“Yes, we have been aware of the development about the Pakistan team getting visa clearance. We are hoping that they will be landing in Bengaluru on Tuesday ahead of the much-anticipated match against India on Wednesday. We are hoping for a sell-out crowd for the match here. We are all set to Stage the match, ” a top KSFA official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

The official said they were not looking at rescheduling the match at the moment and they have been working closely with AIFF.

Earlier, the arrival of the Pakistan football team for the SAFF tournament was thrown into limbo after the delay in processing the visa necessary to travel to India.

Pakistan were stuck in Mauritius where they had participated in the Four-Nation Cup tournament ahead of the SAFF competition.

Pakistan made a jittery preparation for the premier football tournament in South Asia as they finished last on the table with an all-lose record. Djibouti emerged as champions in the tournament with an all-win record.

The neighbouring country’s woes were deepened as the Indian Embassy in Mauritius could not process their visa request because of the weekend non-working days.

Pakistan Football Federation had blamed the National Sports Board for issuing the NOC to travel to India late while the Board countered the allegation stating that the PFF submitted the application for NOC after a considerable delay.

With PTI inputs