Pakistan to participate in SAFF championship

Pakistan will go in pursuit of their third soccer gold at Colombo's Sugathadasa Stadium which will host the final of South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship next June. Sugathadasa had always proved lucky hunting ground for Pakistan team in past as the soccer team clinched SAF Games soccer title in 1991 and 2006.
Pakistan had never won the SAFF title and its only medal was a bronze in Kathmandu 1997's edition. The eight-nation event will be conducted from last week of May to first week of June 2008, a spokesman for the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said here on Sunday.
Male will host draw ceremony on 26th February 2008 . "SAFF President Ganesh Thapa (Nepal) and Secretary Generals of eight participating nations - Manzoor Hassain (Bangladesh), A.H. Abdul Ghafoor (Maldives), Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Yar Khan Lodhi (Retd) (Pakistan), Albert Colaco (India), Ugyen Wanchuk (Bhutan), Mukthar Rustami (Afghanistan), Narendra Shrestha (Nepal) and Hafiz Marikar (Sri Lanka) - will attend the draw ceremony," said SAFF's General Secretary Sirajul Islam Bachchu.
Maldives is a country in South Asian region that has taken great strides in promoting the football. But they are not capable of hosting all matches and Sri Lanka, as a support, decided to jointly conduct this 15-match tourney. The teams will be divided into two groups. Both the nations will host one semi-final. The group matches that involve Maldives will be played in National Stadium, Male and group matches involving Sri Lanka will be played in Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo.
It has also been decided that toss of coin will decide the venue in case of Sri Lanka - Maldives semi final clash. The World Sports Group (WSG) of Singapore, the sponsors of the Asian Soccer since 1992, has come forward as the sponsor for the championship. The sponsors have agreed to offer prize money to the value of $95,000, winner collecting $50,000, runners-up $25,000 and losing semi-finalists $10,000 each.
A total of six tournaments were played in the past and India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh are the only three nations that won the tournament. The SAFF Championship is held biannually to promote the development of football in South Asia. Launched at Railway Stadium, Lahore, in 1993 as Saarc Gold Cup ; since 1997 onwards it is known as the SAFF Championship.