Hassan to arrive in Lahore on 26th

KARACHI: Denmark-based Pakistan football captain Hassan Bashir will arrive in Lahore on June 26 to join the training camp for the Asian Games and SAFF Championship.

“I will arrive in Lahore on June 26,” Hassan told ‘The News’ from Denmark on Wednesday. His first task will be to apply for the renewal of his Pakistani passport.“I am coming to Pakistan a bit early because I need to get my passport renewed,” the striker said.

The training camp resumed on Wednesday after a week-long break for Eid-ul-Fitr.Hassan plays for Greve Fodbold, a second division club of Denmark. Denmark-based striker Mohammad Ali and goalkeeper Yousuf Butt also play for the club.

Ali and Yousuf are expected to join the camp by the middle of July and so is Adnan Mohammad, a Danish Superliga midfielder who is also on the radar of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF).

Adnan is expected to make his debut for Pakistan in SAFF Cup which is slated to be held in Bangladesh from September 4-15. The Asian Games will be conducted in Indonesia from August 18 to September 2.

In the Asiad, players below 23 years of age, along with three seniors, can be fielded. In the SAFF Championship, a full senior side may be fielded. Former Pakistan captains Zeeshan Rehman, who plays for Hong Kong club Southern, and Kaleemullah, who plays in Turkey, also want to represent Pakistan, particularly in the SAFF Championship.

After short-listing of around 60 players in the National Challenge Cup in Karachi in May, the camp had begun at Lahore on May 25 under the Brazilian coach Jose Antonio Nogueira. Brazilian trainer Jose Portella is busy enhancing the players’ fitness.

A team official told ‘The News’ that the strength in the camp had been reduced to 36. A few more players will be dropped in a few days. A team official said that around 30 players would be taken abroad, most probably Bahrain, for friendly matches ahead of the Asian Games.

The players who attended the camp on Wednesday were Ghazanfar Yaseen, Mehdi Hassan, Mohammad Sohail Khan, Mansoor Khan (PAF), Abdul Basit, Omar Hayyat, Mohsin Ali, Mohammad Bilal, Adeel Ali, Mohammad Ahmed (WAPDA), Ali Khan, Waseem, Zain, Zaid Umer, Nouman (CAA), Mohammad Riaz, Murtaza Hussain (K-Electric), Usman Khan, Faisal Iqbal, Maqbool (NBP), Mohammad Usman (PIA), Arsalaan Ali, Umair Ali, Rajab Ali, Yousuf (KRL), Ehsanullah, Bilawal-ur- Rehman, Mehmood Khan, Saddam Hussain, Saadullah, Raziq (SSGC), Naveed Ahmed (Navy), Basit Amin (SNGPL), Shehbaz Younis (Army).