Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat has approved up to 37 players in the build up for the National team to appear in SAFF Championship 2008 next month. The camp will commence on 18th May (today) and stay until 2 June when the male-bound team will left for the Maldives.
Goalkeeper Iltaf Ahmed is one of the four British-based players (others being Zeeshan Rehman, Atif Bashir and Adnan Farooq Ahmed) who are being called to join the camp from foreign soil. Other three foreign-based players of the team that visited Syria during 19th World Cup Qualifiers Amjad Iqbal (Farsley Celtic), Assad Ahmed (Nottingham), Suffean Mahmood (Birmingham) failed to find space in the 37-player list.
Pakistan, bronze-medallist in 1997 at Kathmandu, will collide with Maldives in their opening match in the Group-A encounter of SAFF Championship at National Stadium, situated in Maldivian capital of Male on 3 June 2008.
The SAFF Championship, known as World Cup for South Asia, will be comprised of four-times champion India, 2003 gold medalist Bangladesh, Pakistan, 1995 champion Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan and Afghanistan. The Group- A matches will be played in National Stadium, Male under FAM, while Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) will host Group-B clashed in Sugathadha Stadium, Colombo. The final too will be played in Colombo.
THE TEAM IS AS UNDER: Goalkeepers (4): Syed Sultan Ali, Bilal Rafiq (PIA), Mujahid (PTV), Altaf Ahmed (UK); Defenders (11): Samar Ishaq, Muhammad Ahmed, Kamran Khan (KRL), Muhammad Shahid, Naveed Akram (Wapda), Muhammad Haji (PIA), Adil Ahmed, Yasir Sabir (NBP), Muhammad Imran (Army), Zeeshan Rehman (Queen's Park Rangers), Akhtar Mamil (KPT); Midfielders (14): Zia Us Salam (KRL), Muhammad Irfan, Nasr Ullah Khan (PIA), Farooq Shah, Abdul Aziz (NBP), Michael Masih (Army), Awais (PEL), Adnan Farooq Ahmed (Tranmere Rovers), Atif Bashir (Haverfordwest County AFC), Jadid Khan (Afghan FC, Chaman), Farhan Qadir (Navy), Imran Niazi, Zahid Hameed, Zulfiqar Ali Shah (Wapda); Strikers (8): Arif Mehmood (Wapda), Shakir Lashari (PIA), Muhammad Essa, Muhammad Qasim, Muhammad Rasool (KRL), Asif Mehmood (Navy), Muhammad Adam (SGP), Abdul Rehman (KPT).