Bahrain tour

Pak team departure delayed by one day

By our correspondent

KARACHI: Pakistan football team tour to Bahrain got delayed because of visas issue, it was learnt on Sunday.

“Yes, the tour got delayed for one day. Hopefully, we will get visas tomorrow and on Tuesday the team will proceed to Bahrain,” a senior official of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) told ‘The News’.

Pakistan team was expected to proceed to Manama early Monday (today).A 30-member team will play five practice matches in Manama to prepare for the 18th Asian Games and SAFF Cup to be held in August and September.

The team for the Asiad will be announced after the return from Bahrain on July 30. National football team’s kit was unveiled on Sunday at the PFF headquarters in Lahore. The PFF said that three different designs of kits were displayed. Brazilian coach Jose Antonio Nogueira, Director Technical PFF Shehzad Anwar and Head League Development and Media Shahid Khokhar were also present on the occasion.

“The new kit earned a lot of admiration from the players and officials. In a message, the PFF president Syed Faisal Saleh has said that this was the first time in the history of Pakistan football that a kit was properly unveiled.

“We want to establish a brand value of the team. Kit unveiling is the first step in this regard,” the PFF said.“Players have been provided with the best coaching facilities and the latest technology. We are taking appropriate steps to boost Pakistan football and hope for positive results in near future,” it added.

Nogueira said the kit was part of a team’s identity. The PFF has taken a very positive step in this regard. The players are enthusiastic, he added. Shehzad said the event boosted the morale of the players. “It is a good move from the president PFF to encourage players before international assignments. This exposure has raised their confidence level,” he said.