LAHORE: Pakistan’s 23-member Under-17 football team departed for Bhutan on Monday to compete in the SAFF U-17 Men’s Championship, set to take place from Sept 20 to 30.

The team, led by head coach Sajjad Mehmood, will face Nepal in their opening match on Sept 21 at Thimphu’s Changlimithang Stadium. They will then take on host nation Bhutan on Sept 23 and Sri Lanka on Sept 25 at the same venue.

Pakistan is placed in Group ‘B’ alongside Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, while Group A consists of India, Maldives, and Bangladesh. Hassan Baloch and Nouman will serve as assistant and goalkeeping coaches, respectively.

Squad: Defenders: Abdul Rehman, M. Husnain Saleem, Najeem Khan, Sameer Ahmed, UbaidUllah Khan, Majid Ali, Syed Muhammad Aabis Raza and Umar Javed; Midfielders: Abdul Samad, Muhammad Faraz, Farhad, Haroon Rashed, Hikmat Ullah, Khobaib Khan, M. Shahab Ahmed and Muhammad Khan; Forwards: Abdul Ghani, Subhan Karim, Shahraf Khan and Muhammad Talha Khan; Goalkeepers: Aadil Ali Khan, Ghulam Abbas and Kashif Ibrahim.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2024