Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan football team members have been issued visas for travel to India to participate in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, according to a press release issued by the Pakistan Football Federation on Monday. The release added the visas were issued by the Indian High Commission in Mauritius where the team were present for a Four-Nation Series. “The team would depart for India’s Bengalore via an available flight,” the release added. The tournament was scheduled to begin on June 21 (Wednesday) when Pakistan would play their first match against “traditional rivals” India. The team were originally set to depart for India on Sunday but failed to board the flight due to the non-issuance of visas, following which All India Football Federation general secretary Shaji Prabhakaran had assured that the visas would be issued on Monday. Pakistan had applied for visas after the Interior Ministry gave clearance for the trip on Thursday last week. Pakistan missed the last edition of the SAFF Championship in 2021 due to a FIFA suspension. This will be second visit by a Pakistani team to India in less than six months. In February 2023, Pakistan squash team travelled to Chennai to participate in Asian Junior Championship.