BENGALURU: The uncertainty is finally over! After weeks of speculation, it has finally been confirmed that the Pakistan football team will travel to Bengaluru for the SAFF Championships starting on Wednesday. The final hurdle too was surmounted after the team was granted visas to travel to India on Monday.
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) confirmed the news through a press release circulated to Pakistani media. “The Pakistan football team was issued visas from Mauritius to go to India,” the communication, originally in Urdu, said. “The Indian High Commission in Mauritius issued visas to the Pakistan Football team.”
Even since the fixtures and dates for the tournament were announced, there had been much doubt over whether Pakistan would be able to participate. There was concern whether the standoff between the cricket boards of the two countries would spill into football as well. However, both football federations had made it clear that Pakistan wanted to participate and had completed the necessary paperwork.
There was much less clarity over whether the Pakistani government was going to allow the team to travel. They certainly took their time to make up their mind — according to reports in Pakistani media, the delay in issuing the No Objection Certificates from the concerned ministries meant that Pakistan Football Federation could only apply for Indian visas with less than a week left for the tournament.
During the delay, the PFF had even taken to social media to vent their frustration. Following Monday’s developments, they tweeted “See you soon India”. However, the Pakistan team still have a tough journey ahead of them. The delay in getting a visa means that they will have to take a last-minute flight to Bengaluru. The team is currently in Mauritius to play a series of friendly matches.
As of now, they are only likely to arrive in Bengaluru either late on Tuesday night or early on Wednesday morning. Either way, they will only have a few hours to rest before they boot up for their tournament opener against India on Wednesday.
Multiple reports quoted PFF officials as hoping for a rescheduling of their match against India. However, All India Football Federation general secretary Shaji Prabhakaran, confirmed to this daily, saying that the match will go on as per the original schedule.