Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) training camp for World Cup qualifiers kicks off today in Bahrain
A total of 22 footballers of Pakistan would report for the training camp under the banner of FIFA-recognized Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) at Manama, Bahrain to begin preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers first round.
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Both home and foreign-based Pakistani footballers will assemble in Bahrain on today under the banner of FIFA-recognized Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) to begin preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers first round against Cambodia next month.
A total of 22 players would report for the camp at Manama which include: Denmark-based glove-man, Yousuf Butt, Hasan Bashir, Mohammad Ali, Adnan Mohammad, England-born, Zeeshan Rehman and a few others based in other countries.
The PFF led by Ashfaq Hussain Shah, already began a camp at the Jinnah Stadium, Islamabad, from 5th May in which 33 players were invited to the camp but due to certain reasons some of them failed to report. Now out of the many practicing players at the Jinnah Stadium camp, around 10 players were selected too represent Pakistan in this international event, who will also be featuring in the camp at Bahrain from today.
As Ashfaq-led body of Pakistan Football Federation is not recognized by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), it can not field the team in the qualifiers but only Faisal Saleh Hayat-led body can. The Ashfaq-led body has the support of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). Brazilian coach Jose Antonio Nogueira will supervise the camp. His support staff will comprise of Brazilian trainer Jose Portella, a Brazilian goal-keeping coach and four Pakistan-based officials.
The June qualifiers will feature six home and away matches, in which away leg will be held on 6th June, followed by the home leg on 11th June, with part of the overall campaign to double as 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifying. Malaysia, Cambodia, Macau, Laos, Bhutan and Mongolia are seeded as the draw’s top six sides who have the challenging task of facing possible opponents: Bangladesh, Guam, Brunei Darussalam, Timor-Leste, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for a place in the next qualifying round.
Cambodia are coached by former Japan star, Keisuke Honda and most recently lost to Pakistan’s South Asian rivals Bangladesh in a friendly game to which former Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) official, Muslim Butt, who now resides in Cambodia, believes there is a strong chance that Pakistan can win the tie.
The winners of the two-legged ties will advance to the next phase of the competition, which will be determined at the official draw for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar in July.
