- Pakistan squad leaves for Singapore on Sunday.
- Delay in their departure was initially caused by late issuance.
- The team will now only be able to play a single match.
The Pakistan women’s football team’s departure for Singapore has been rescheduled from today to tomorrow (Sunday) due to the unavailability of flights from Karachi to Singapore on Saturday.
They will now depart via Lahore tomorrow morning. The delay in their departure was initially caused by the late issuance of the No Objection Certificate (NOC) and visas.
Originally, the team had planned to play two friendly matches against Singapore, but due to the aforementioned delays, they will now only be able to play a single match on July 18.
After the intervention of Shaza Fatima, the special assistant to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) received the No Objection Certificate (NOC) on Thursday. The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) had expressed its inability to issue the NOC for the women’s football team’s tour to Singapore due to time constraints.
“Prime Minister played an important role in getting NOC for our team,” Shaza said.
It is important to note that the Football Association of Singapore officially confirmed the tour to the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on June 26th. Subsequently, the PFF sent a letter requesting the No Objection Certificate (NOC) on the following day, which was submitted to the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) shortly after the Eid Holidays.
A source within the PFF expressed surprise at the expectation from the PSB to provide NOC documentation even before the tour had been confirmed.
Similarly, in the previous month, the PFF had to wait until the last moment to obtain NOCs for their tours to Mauritius and India.
Midfielder Maria Khan will lead the Pakistan football squad during the tour to Singapore.
Pakistan Squad
Goalkeepers: Nisha Ashraf, Rumaysa Khan.
Defenders: Mishal Bhatti, Kayla Siddiqi, Sophiya Qureshi, Nizalia Siddiqui, Sara Khan.
Midfielders: Maria Khan (c), Suha Hirani, Kayanat Bokhari, Rameen Fareed, Marvi Baig, Aliza Sabir.
Forwards: Sanober Abdul Sattar, Zahmena Malik, Zulfia Nazir, Aliya Sadiq, Anmool Hira, Naqiyah Ali, Isra Khan.
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