LAHORE, May 29: Pakistan national football team will be leaving for Maldives on Friday to take part in South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship being played from June 3 to 14.Zahid Hameed will lead the 20-player outfit in the eighth national elite tournament of South Asia. The SAFF Championship, known as World Cup for South Asia, will comprise Pakistan, four-times champion India, 2003 gold medallist Bangladesh, 1995 champion Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan.

The Group-A matches will be played at the National Stadium in Male under Football Association of Maldives (FAM) while Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) will host Group-B clashes in Sugathadha Stadium, Colombo. The final will be played in Colombo.

Pakistan will take on Maldives in their opening match in the Group-A encounter at Male on June 3, followed by matches against India (June 5) and Nepal (June 7). The Colombo-based Group-B consist of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan.

Pakistan is drawn in Group A, the group of death, which comprise the best teams in South Asian football.—APP