“We only know that the matches would take place"
The Pakistan women’s football team has been invited to Saudi Arabia to partake in a tournament, due to take place in September 2023.
The competition will consist of between four and six teams.
Pakistan travelled to Saudi Arabia in January 2023, in order to qualify for the tournament, in which Comoros and Mauritius also took part.
Saudi Arabia went on to win the title, but Pakistan finished as runner-up with four points.
Sports Journalist Shahrukh Sohail said that the performance in Saudi Arabia and Olympic qualifiers should be identified as historical for the team.
He also stated that despite the fact that the team had only played a total of 14 matches, coming second displayed just how much potential they had.
A PFF official said: “The Saudi [Arabian Football Federation] sent us an invite, which we accepted, but we don’t know which other country’s teams are taking part.
“We only know that the matches would take place from September 18-30 according to the FIFA calendar for women’s international matches.”
Although an official announcement has not yet been made, it is believed a press release will be issued in which details of the tournament will be discussed.
This competition is believed to be highly important for the PFF and for the progress of its players, as it means they will receive further international experience and recognition.
In September 2022, Pakistan won a resounding 7-0 against the Maldives when they played in the South Asian Football Federation championship.
April 2022 saw the team celebrate a 1-0 win against Tajikistan, in the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers round.
Pakistan also played a friendly international game against Singapore in July, but despite a great attempt, they lost 1-0.
Pakistan debuted in the Dhaka South Asian Games in 2010 but then were made to take an eight-year interval from competing internationally, due to problems within the PFF.
It was at this time that a ban was also placed by FIFA due to “third-party interference”.
However, the journey so far has been far from smooth.
Most recently as the team prepared to leave for Singapore they were hit with a snag as the Sports Board brought forward a new rule.
The new rule implied that any team that needed to travel would be required to apply for a NOC (No Objection Certificate). The process is said to take up to 6 weeks.
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