Football events kick off today

LAHORE: The men and women football events of the 34th National Games will kick off at Quetta on Saturday (today).

On Friday, managers meeting and draws were held in the Balochistan capital. In the men’s event, ten teams will be pressing for the title. The teams have been bracketed in three groups. The leading sides in each group and the best runners-up will qualify for the semi-finals which will be held at the Ayub Stadium on May 19.

The final and third-placed game will be conducted on May 21. In Group A defending champions WAPDA, Army and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been adjusted. Higher Education Commission (HEC), Balochistan and Navy have been placed in Group B while Group C contains PAF, Police, Sindh and Punjab.

Sindh have been able to get a late inclusion after they were initially dropped by the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA) from its list. A massive protest from the football stakeholders forced the Sindh government to send its men’s football team.

Sindh has a huge football nursery and its men’s team can pose a real challenge to the tough oppositions in the event. On Saturday (today) two matches will be held with Army taking on KP at 2pm and HEC locking horns with Balochistan at 4pm.

Meanwhile, in the women’s event there are only five teams: Army, WAPDA, HEC, Police and hosts Balochistan. This event will be played on a single league basis with the leading team in the end to lift the trophy.