Pak under-16 football team named

LAHORE: Pakistan on Wednesday announced its under-16 football team for the SAFF Championship which will be held in Bhutan early next month.

The colts will begin their journey in the event with a game against Bhutan on September 1 at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.

They will then face Maldives on September 3 at the same venue.

Pakistan team is currently undergoing training here at Lahore.

Before this, the brigade also trained at Abbottabad under the head coach Sajjad Mehmood.

Hassan Baloch will be acting as an assistant coach during the showpiece whose inaugural edition was won by Pakistan under the same coaching panel a few years ago.

Meanwhile, Candyland will on Thursday (today) hold a reception in the honour of Pakistan under-16 football team which is set to feature in the SAFF Championship in Bhutan early next month.

Candyland has come forward with a mission of taking Pakistan football to new heights.

Candyland assisted the PFF Normalisation Committee in holding countrywide trials for picking the cream for the very important event of the region.

As many as 200 boys attended the trials and of them 50 were shortlisted.

The strength was further squeezed following marathon training.

Pakistan squad: Defenders: Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Husnain Saleem, Najeem Khan, Sameer Ahmed, Ubaid Ullah Khan, Majid Ali, Syed Muhammad Aabid Raza and Umar Javed; Midfielders:

Abdul Samad, Muhammad Faraz, Farhad, Haroon Rashed, Hikmat Ullah, Khobaib Khan, M. Shahab Ahmed and Muhammad Khan

Forwards: Abdul Ghani, Husnain Wali Raza, Subhan Karim and Syed Kabir Ali Shah; Goalkeepers: Aadil Ali Khan, Balach Khan and Ghulam Abbas.