LAHORE, Sept 6: Yukichi Maeda, representative of Federation of Baseball of Asia (FBA) will arrive on Sept 26 to inspect the facilities in Islamabad for holding the Asia Cup in April.

President Pakistan Baseball and Softball Federation Shaukat Javed, told Dawn on Tuesday that Mr Maeda would meet the concerned authorities in Islamabad and would inspect two proposed venues —- Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi, Jinnah Stadium, Islamabad — before finalizing his report.

He said that after getting a green signal from the BFA, his federation would give final shape to organizing the event.

The president said that eight countries of the region would take part in the competition. An estimated Rs 10m will be required to stage it.

He explained that after being affiliated with the Pakistan Olympic Association and staging the Asia Cup, the game would get further boost.

He said that the federation had already set up a training camp in Lahore to prepare the team for the Asia Cup.

South Korea, he said, would also provide Pakistan a coach later this year to prepare the team on modern lines.