ISLAMABAD, May 25: Pakistan and India are to play a 10-match home and away series, the modalities of which are being finalised, Chaudhry Muhammad Yaqoob announced on Tuesday.

Yaqoob, the chairman of the Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) was speaking at a Meet the Press programme of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Sports Journalists Association (RISJA).

The PVF, Yaqoob said was in touch with its counterparts in India and the dates and venues for the series were likely to be finalised shortly. Pakistan had proposed to host its share of matches between Oct 5 to 15 this year but may now have to change the schedule because of a clash with National Games.

India will organize five of their matches next year with dates for those games yet to be decided. Yaqoob, who will head Pakistan's contingent to the Olympic Games in Athens this summer, said that all his efforts were aimed at making the country the top volleyball nation in Asia. "We need a lot of money and a period of three to four years to achieve that goal."

He pointed out that Iran, whom Pakistan beat in an ECO tournament not long ago, had made rapid progress. "Iran's secret of success is that they tend to bid for every tournament which has helped them a lot."

"Also they have put a lot of money into the sport and have been able to hire top coaches." Yaqoob also revealed the domestic and international calendar of activity with Pakistan's major forthcoming assignment being the Asian Central Zone Volleyball Championship in Vishakpatan, India.

The July 13 to 18 event will have Iran, Kazakhstan, India and Maldives also taking part. This will be followed by the eight-nation Al-Rashid Tournament in Dubai from July 29 to Aug 7.

A double league between the teams of Pakistan, India and the UAE in the Emirates this August will be another key feature of the year. The 12th Asian Junior Championship in Doha would then follow, slated for Sept 3 to 10. "There will be 19 teams competing in this event and we are preparing seriously for this event."

"We have a lot of talented players coming up but we need to groom them which will take time before they are really able to make their mark." Among the domestic tournaments, Islamabad will host the 15-team National Junior Championship from May 29 to June 4 with the Club Championship at the regional, provincial and national levels planned for the months of June to August.

The National Women's Championship at Lahore in August and a Beach event in Karachi in the same month are also on the PVF calendar. Meanwhile, Yaqoob said that Islamabad had been allotted the 2005 Asian Senior Championship on the pre-condition that two halls are made available for the event.