Pakistan gear up for Paris Olympics women’s football qualifiers

LAHORE: Pakistan women’s football team has travelled to UAE to supplement their preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympics Football Qualifiers, starting in Tajikistan next week. 

According to the details, the national women’s team will hold a three-day training camp in Dubai before flying out to Tajikistan on April 3 for the first round of the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Pakistan will play their first match of the tournament against the Philippines on April 5. They face Hong Kong on April 8 before ending their campaign on April 11 with an encounter against home side Tajikistan.

In the first round of Olympic Qualifiers, 26 Asian teams will participate in the upcoming tournament. They are divided into five groups of four and two groups of three teams.

The seven group winners from the first round will join Asia’s five highest-ranked teams – North Korea, Japan, Australia, China and South Korea – in the second round of the Paris 2024 Olympic women’s football qualifiers to be held in October.

The three group winners and one best-placed runner-up from the second round will play for the two spots for Paris 2024 Olympics in the final round to be held in November-December 2023.

Maria Khan will lead Pakistan women’s team in the first round of Olympic Qualifiers.

Earlier the national women’s team camp wrapped up in Lahore on Wednesday before the squad departed for UAE.

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