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| November 17, 2005 | Thursday | Shawwal 14, 1426 |
Soccer: SAFF tournament to go ahead, says PFF official
KARACHI, Nov 16: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said on Wednesday that Tuesday’s bomb blast in Karachi would not affect the schedule of the forthcoming South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship.
“At the moment there is no change in our plans because of recent bomb blast in Karachi. The event could only be postponed if the government asks us to do so because of security concerns. It all depends on the feedback from the government,” said PFF director technical Lt-Col Mujahid Ullah Khan.
Mujahid, also the organizing secretary of eight-nation competition which is to be hosted by People’s Sports Complex from Dec 7 to 17, said so far PFF had not been contacted by any of the participants, expressing security concerns.
Apart from hosts Pakistan, the contest will be participated by Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Maldives.
“Neither any official from SAFF or any participating country expressed fears for their safety after the bomb blast in the city. I hope we will organize the event as scheduled if circumstances don’t get worse,” the PFF official said.
Karachi’s venue was given a green signal after at least two visits by SAFF secretary Sirajul Islam Bachchu who inspected the venue along with two marketing officials earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Fulham defender Zesh Rehman, will be joining Pakistan squad in Bahrain where the national team is scheduled to play four matches from Nov 21 to 30 against the hosts as part of fund-raising for Oct 8 earthquake victims.
“Rehman has confirmed his availability after been released by Fulham and the defender would be joining Pakistan squad to play against Bahrain. Pakistan’s new coach Salman Sharida had a talk with Zesh and asked him to join the squad directly in Bahrain,” Mujahid said.
Rehman will leave Bahrain after the matches to play Premier League matches for Fulham and will return to Pakistan to join national squad in Karachi on Nov 3.
Although Pakistan are not favourites, they will be the centre of attraction at SAFF championship with multipurpose Fulham player in their ranks. Rehman will not only be the major attraction for his team-mates and oppositions, his presence will also strengthen the Pakistan side.
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