English
Bengaluru: The Pakistan football team’s arrival in the state for the upcoming SAFF Championship has been delayed due to a visa issue. The Men in Green were scheduled to land in India on Sunday morning from Mauritius where they were playing a Four-Nation cup.
However, Pakistan are still in Mauritius after having missed the flight to India but are expected to arrive on time before their opening clash against the Indian on June 21. The much-awaited India versus Pakistan clash will be played at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium from 7:30 PM IST.
The India MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) is closed on the weekend and their application is with the Indian Embassy in Mauritius,” a Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) official told PTI. “We are in touch with the AIFF (All India Football Federation), who is in touch with Embassy as well as the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF).”
Pakistan team hasn’t got Indian visa yet. They have to travel from Mauritius to Bangalore in morning but no visas yet for Pakistani footballers from Indian embassy in Mauritius. pic.twitter.com/FGhbIr4aU2
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) June 17, 2023
“The word coming through that the visa applications of Pakistan players will be processed on Monday and they will be able to land in Bengaluru on Monday night or Tuesday morning well in time for the fixture,” he added.
Meanwhile, PFF has balmed the country’s Sports Board for delaying the NOC for the team. Countering PFF’s claims, the Board stated that the federation submitted the documents late. After the India clash, Pakistan will face Kuwait (June 24) and Nepal (June 27) in Group A.
Pakistan’s preparation for the SAFF Championships were far from ideal as they lost all their three games in the Four Nation Cup in Mauritius. Djibouti emerged champions.
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