May 15, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 9, 1429

LAHORE, May 14: The 22-member Pakistan Under-14 football team leaves for the Iranian capital Tehran on Thursday to take part in the AFC Festival to be held there from May 16 to 23.

The Karachi-born player Abdul Waheed, who also captained the U-13 national side that visited Bangladesh last year, has been named the skipper. The national team under Abdul’s captaincy had put up a spirited display, outplaying India 3-1, Maldives 6-0 and drawing with Iran 0-0. Asad Irfan of Sialkot will be his deputy.

Pakistan is among the nine participating outfits in the tournament along with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and hosts Iran.

Squad:

Goal-Keepers (2): Ahsanullah (Karachi), Yasir Ali (Karachi),

Defenders (7): Uzair Qadir (Karachi), Muhammad Sajid (Faisalabad), Hassan Saleem Khan (Lahore), Asif Waris (Karachi), Sharam Babar (Faisalabad), Husnain Arshad (Sargodha), Daniyal (Karachi).

Midfielders (6): Abdul Waheed (Karachi) Captain, Muhammad Salman (Lahore), Habibullah (North Waziristan), Amir Oghan (Karachi), Bilal Arshad (Islamabad), Asad Irfan (Sialkot) Vice Captain.

Strikers (7): Hassan Khan (Sialkot), Zainul Islam (Lahore), Sher Muhammad (Karachi), Muhammad Nawaz (Faisalabad), Fazal Muhammad (Khuzdar), Irfan Younas (Karachi), Ahmad Faheem (Khanewal).