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PESHAWAR: After weeks of deliberation and altercation between the Pakistan Olympic Association and the Pakistan Football Federation, football made its way back into the National Games late Sunday. “The organisers informed us yesterday that football has now been included in the National Games,” Pakistan Football Federation’s (PFF) Secretary Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi told Dawn.com on Monday.
Football was excluded from the original list of disciplines to feature in the 31st edition of the Games along with cycling and hockey on the basis of security fears. Hockey, however, made its case for a comeback after Pakistan won the hockey gold at the Asian Games.
Pakistan Olympic Association’s snub came under heavy criticism from the PFF, which termed the decision a ‘political move.’
Meanwhile, the organisers have also decided to grant honorary participation to athletes from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), it was learnt.
The 31st National Games will be held in Peshawar from December 25 to 31.
The football events, however, will be played in Islamabad along with shooting and women’s swimming due to lack of facilities and security fears.
“Fata will field a 50-member contingent, which will participate in football, volleyball, hockey and athletics,” Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Sports Minister Syed Aqil Shah said.
