KARACHI, Nov 24: With only four days in World Cup pre- qualifying home game to kick off, Pakistan football officials are still dilly-dallying in announcing the squad, taking the match nothing more than a friendly encounter.

The squad which should have been announced some three days ago, is yet to be named because of what officials say absence of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) president Faisal Saleh Hayat.

“We are waiting for president’s approval who is in Saudi Arabia. The squad will probably be announced tomorrow (Tuesday),” PFF secretary Arshad Lodhi said on Monday.

Pakistan are to take on Kyrgyzstan on Nov 29 at Karachi’s People’s Sports Complex at 3.00pm and on Dec 3 in Bishkek in away game to reach the qualifying round of the world’s biggest football extravaganza.

While the precious time has already been lost due to the non- availability of the probables which forced the selectors to ask for an extension in the deadline for the selection of the squad, non-availability of PFF boss is aggravating the situation.

The squad was to be selected on Nov 9 here but was delayed due to the absence of a number of probables.

However, the chairman of the selection committee, Col Yunus Changezi, after a delay of 11 days, submitted a list of 20 players on Nov 20, but now the officials await for the final approval of the PFF chief who is in Saudi Arabia for Umra.

A PFF spokesman said list of 20 players had been faxed to Faisal and an official approval of the squad, captain and officials was expected on Tuesday.

Arshad confirmed that a 20-member squad would be fielded for the home game and 15 players would go to Bishkek for the away match.

Nevertheless, the situation remains as disappointing as it was before the fresh set of officials took over after August’s elections as neither PFF officially announced the 20 players nor the 15 for the away game.

“Pakistan squad will leave on Nov 29 to Kyrgyzstan after playing at home, along with the Kyrgyzstan squad in their chartered plane for which PFF has paid,” the official said.

The secretary said the number of players for away had been cut down to save the expenditure. The official said the squads for home and away would have four officials including manager Khalid Lateef, coach Tariq Lutfi, doctor Ghulam Atiq and a Karachi-based journalist.

FIFA, the sport’s world governing body and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) are extending financial and technical support to Pakistan and pressing the PFF to work on professional lines.

But signs of improvement are hard to envisage as top PFF officials, like their predecessors, find little time and are busy in their political activities, while soccer suffers as it had in the last four or five years.

Faisal is the interior minister, while Arshad the Punjab agriculture minister.