LAHORE, June 10: Indian football captain Shanmugam Venkatesh expressed hope the series will provide quality soccer besides promoting friendship between the two countries.

A 21-member Indian squad and nine officials arrived here on Friday to play three match series.

Shanmugam, who had been declared as Player of the Year 2004 by the All Indian Football Federation (AIFF), said more series between the two countries should be organised as it would help raise the standard of the game.

He said he had ignored the 1-0 defeat of India at the hands of Pakistan in the last SAF Games final in Islamabad and hoped his side would perform better.

He said his team was prepared after attending a training camp in Bangalore and all the players were fit and eager to perform.

Shanmugam said there were no security concerns since several teams from India, including cricket had toured Pakistan.

He avoided predicting the result of the series but said he would emphasise on playing positive football.

Indian coach Sukhwinder Singh said series was a positive sign as football activity would be revived between the two countries after 12 years. He said series could improve the standard of the game besides promoting soccer in the region.

Leader of delegation Samir Thapar said “the welcome and support we received is beyond our expectations for which we are thankful to Pakistan.”

The Indians leave for Quetta on Saturday morning to play the first match there on Sunday. The second match is scheduled to be played in Peshawar on June 16, while last game will be held in Lahore on June 18.

Pakistan Football Federation said the federation had raised an amount of Rs 10 million through sponsorship and more was expected.

Indian squad:

Goalkeepers: VP Satish Kumar, Sangram Mukerjee, Sandip Nandy.

Defenders: Mahesh Gawli, Manju Najangud Shivananju, Sukumar Singh, Syed Rahim Nabi, Habibur Rehman, Philip Gomes, Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep.

Midfielders: Shanmugan Venkatesh (captain), Jatin Singh Bisht, Clifford Miranda, Bibiano Fernandes, Climax Lawrence, Jules Alberto Dias, Sukhwinder Singh.

Strikers: Abhishek Yadev, Sunil Chetri, MA Abdul Hakkim, Surajit Bose.