KARACHI: The Paki­stan Under-16 boys’ squad departed from Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport on Thursday to compete in the UEFA U-16 Boys Development Tourn­ament in Kazakh­stan, marking the first time Pakistan has participated in a UEFA event.

The tournament will be held from April 24 to 30 at the Namys Stadium Biik Sports Complex in Alm­aty, where the 19-me­mber squad will face UEFA-affiliated nations in what the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) described as a significant opportunity for the country’s emerging generation to gain high-level international exposure.

The squad, selected by the national coaching staff, represents a blend of promising young talent from across the country.

PFF President Syed Mohsen Gilani said that access to European competition at the U-16 level had historically been out of reach for Pakistan’s young players, and called the tournament an essential platform for development.

“Access to European competition at this level has historically been out of reach for our young players, and that is a gap we are determined to close,” Mohsen said.

“The U-16 age group is where footballers begin to define themselves. This is exactly the kind of tournament where our boys’ character will be tested.

“And it is exactly the kind of platform we want to provide consistently to our youth teams, because you cannot build world-class players by keeping them local.”

Squad: Goalkeepers: Samar Razzaq, Naveed Ullah; Defenders: Mohammad Alam, Hamza Amjad, Maqbool Ahmed, Nadeem Hussain, Abdul Raheem Elahi, Syed Manzar Shah; Midfielders: M. Mustafa, M. Essa, Sagar Mehrban, Haroon Rasheed, Shahraz Khan, Abdul Samad, Hamza Yasir, M. Hanzala; Forwards: Danish Masih, M. Rafay, Kaleem Ullah.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2026