KARACHI: The Pakistan football team has been issued visas by India to participate in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, the Pakistan Football Federation said on Monday.
The announcement came as a huge relief to football fans, as members of the Pakistan football team had not received visas from Indian authorities until Sunday, putting in doubt whether the green shirts would be able to participate in the tournament.
SAFF Cup's latest edition will be played in India's Bengaluru from June 21-July 4. Political tensions between India and Pakistan often sour sports competitions between the two neighbors, with both countries rarely playing each other in cricket and football at international events.
The SAFF Cup is one of the very few tournaments in the world where football teams of the two arch-rivals square off against each other.
“The Indian High Commission in Mauritius has issued visas to the Pakistan football team,” PFF said in a statement. “Pakistan football team will leave for India by available flight.”
Pakistan, who are in Group A with India, Nepal, and Kuwait, are scheduled to face India on June 21. The green shirts will then take on Kuwait on June 24 and Nepal on June 27.
Pakistan's football team is currently in Mauritius for a four-nation friendly tournament.
“After playing the four-nation tournament from Mauritius, the Pakistan team will go to Bangalore, India, by available flight,” PFF said.
The team was 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 assured that the visas would be issued on Monday.
