Danish Superliga player Adnan on PFF’s radar

KARACHI: Danish Superliga midfielder Adnan Mohammad of Pakistani origin is on the radar of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) for the forthcoming Asian Games and SAFF Championships.

According to sources, the 21-year-old Adnan, who plays for Denmark’s top-tier football Superliga club Helsingor FC, will come to Pakistan on June 10.

The sources said that the fate of Adnan would be decided after the selectors see him in the national team camp in Lahore. “He has told us that he would come on June 10. We will check how he is before taking any decision,” a source said.

If he is found good enough, Adnan will be eligible to play for Pakistan both in Asian Games and SAFF Cup.The Asian Games are pencilled in for August 18 to September 2 in Indonesia. SAFF Cup will be held in Bangladesh from September 4-15.

Norway’s Ghayas Zahid could also make his Pakistan debut in the SAFF Championship. “Ghayas’ father wants his son to play for Pakistan. If he is able to get his Pakistani passport in due course, he may represent Pakistan in the SAFF Cup,” a highly credible source said.

The 23-year-old Oslo-born Ghayas is the first Pakistan-origin footballer to have featured in the last UEFA Champions League while representing Nicosia-based professional club APOEL FC.

Cyprus’ APOEL FC feature in the Cypriot First Division. A few Denmark-based and England-based players have represented Pakistan in the last few years. The sources said that all of them are under consideration for Pakistan duty this year.

Meanwhile, the PFF will soon finalise national camp for the Asian Games and SAFF Cup.“Everything will be finalised about the camp in a couple of days,” a PFF official told ‘The News’. The official also revealed that the players would stay at the Sports Board Punjab (SBP) hostel. The initiative was taken because the PFF headquarters hostel is being rehabilitated.

The hostel and other facilities of the headquarters were damaged in the last three years of occupation by the PFF’s rival group.Pakistan football team’s Brazilian coach Jose Antonio Nogueira is in Lahore to give final touches to the camp which is expected to begin next week.The selectors have shortlisted 55 home-grown players for the camp. The players were picked during the National Challenge Cup which Pakistan Air Force (PAF) won in Karachi.