New teams likely in National Football Challenge Cup

KARACHI: Some new outfits are expected to be seen in the National Football Challenge Cup which will begin next month here at the KPT Stadium.

A senior official of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) told ‘The News’ on Friday that Pakistan Statelife Insurance, Asia Ghee Mills, Shama Banaspati and a few others have shown interest in the country’s second biggest event which will be held after a gap of three years.

However, the official was quick to add that the fate of these interested clubs would be decided after examining their entities in the light of the PFF club licensing regulations which have been approved by the executive committee of the federation.

Pakistan remained inactive in football for three years because of a conflict between PFF and a rival group, headed by Arshad Lodhi, a former secretary of PFF and former president of Punjab Football Association (PFA).

Meanwhile, the PFF chief Faisal Saleh Hayat said that National Football Challenge Cup would provide a wonderful opportunity to the Karachiites to witness competitive matches. He said that PFF would appoint a Technical Study Group (TSG) to spot new talent for the formation of national teams for the forthcoming international events.

Pakistan this year will feature in the Asian Games and SAFF Cup. The Asian Games will be held in August and September in Indonesia. The SAFF Cup will be conducted in Bangladesh in September.

The PFF secretary Col Ahmad Yar Lodhi has also appreciated the formation of new departmental clubs.“The formation of new departmental clubs is good for the game as it will support the endeavours of PFF in many ways,” Lodhi said.He said it would not only help groom new talent but many football coaches would also get employment with the new teams.