Pak U17 team awaiting clearance for departure to Bhutan

FAISALABAD: The Pakistan U-17 football team is awaiting clearance for departure to Bhutan for the SAFF U-17 Championship. The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is optimistic that the NOC will be granted in time.

According to sources, the NOC for the team’s participation in the SAFF U-17 Championship remains under review. With the championship set to kick off on September 20, the team is scheduled to depart Monday afternoon.

Insiders reveal that the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has communicated a positive response to the PFF on the NOC process. The PSB has informed the PFF that it has forwarded the PFF’s request to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to expedite the issuance of the required documentation.

Earlier, the PSB had returned the PFF’s request due to certain objections. However, after considering the PFF’s position, the process was resumed. The PFF had expressed its inability to resubmit the application due to time constraints. The PSB has since advised the PFF that, going forward, no documents will be processed without the chairman’s signature.