Exhausted Pak team face India in SAFF Championship today
Sports
SAFF authorities turn down PFF request to reschedule match
MUMBAI (Web Desk) – Pakistan football team on Wednesday had to face a blow ahead of their crucial match against India, as the arrival of players in Bengaluru was delayed due to visa formalities at Mumbai airport.
Pakistan will face India in the SAFF Championship in the Indian city of Bengaluru today (Wednesday).
According to a sports channel, players had to spend a lot of time in meeting formalities at the passport office at Mumbai airport and more than half of Pakistan team players arrived in Bengaluru only six hours before start of their match against India.
Pakistan team's manager, Hasnain Haider, described how the team faced issues in India's passport control office.
"We landed in Mumbai at 1:30 am, but there were no officials at the passport control office. They came after 30 minutes and gave us a few forms to fill out including the visa form, which we had already filled and submitted to the authorities before arriving in Mumbai," he said.
The official added that the entire process took some time with the first group, comprising six players and six team officials, managing to board their flight at 3:55am. "However, the second group [14 players and six officials] missed their flight because their forms took longer to be approved," Haider added.
However, the Pakistan team were ready for the highly-anticipated clash against India despite travelling for nearly 17 hours.
In a related development, the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) turned down a request made by Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) to reschedule Wednesday’s fixture.
The PFF had earlier requested the regional football body to reschedule the game after Pakistan’s travel plan was disturbed due to delay in visa issuance.
However, the SAFF organisers in Bengaluru turned down PFF’s request saying they werenot in a position to reschedule the fixture.
“We were very much aware of your visa situation, but as several stakeholders including the broadcasters are involved, we are not in position to reschedule your match on 21st as it may jeopardise the whole championship,” the SAFF replied to PFF.
