May 14, 2002	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 1, 1423

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KARACHI, May 13: Pakistan soccer team missed the opening day of the Under-17 Asian qualifiers in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, because of the total indifference of the Pakistan Football Federations (PFF).

Confusion and doubts over Pakistan’s participation looms large, as the team, which was scheduled to leave for the Tajik capital today, is still camped in Islamabad with the PFF officials trying desperately to finalize the travel plans.

Pakistan are to play Turkmenistan on May 15, and Tajikistan on May 17.

The three-team group VI qualifying round, an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) event, kicked off Monday with a game between Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.

On Sunday, a PFF official had said the team would depart Monday by a chartered Tajikistan airlines plane.

However, the PFF official reiterated Monday that travel plans had now been completed and the team would leave early Tuesday morning through a chartered aircraft that he said was to arrive from Tajikistan.

He did not comment why the team failed to leave as planned.

Although the official did not confirm, the Tajik embassy in Islamabad is said to be helping in arranging a chartered flight for the team.

To make the matters worse, another PFF official was adamant that the squad would leave late Monday night by a scheduled Emirates airlines flight.

“All arrangements have been made and now the team will travel today by Emirates at 11.55pm from Islamabad to Dushanbe via Dubai,” Ghulam Abbas Baloch, a vice-president of the PFF, said here.

As Pakistan failed to reach the venue Monday, the starting day of the event, they have missed the managers meeting. It is yet to be seen what could be the consequences if the team failed to appear before its first game.

It is beyond one’s comprehension why the PFF failed to make team’s travel plans in advance, specially when it had confirmed team’s participation several months before the contest.