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ISLAMABAD: The first contingent of the Afghanistan men’s football team touched down here in the federal capital on Wednesday evening for their AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers clash against Pakistan, after facing delays due to visa issues.
The match between Pakistan and Afghanistan is scheduled to be played at the Jinnah Football Stadium in Islamabad tomorrow.
Earlier, the much-anticipated clash faced uncertainty due to visa issues affecting several players.
A day earlier, Pakistan Football Federation president Mohsen Gillani stated regarding the issues.
“The players and officials who were in Afghanistan have obtained their visas to travel to Pakistan but those living abroad had to go to Afghanistan to get the required clearance,” Mohsen said.
“That process is mandatory as per the Afghanistan Football Federation’s decision of nominating the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul to issue the visas.”
However, once the issue was highlighted, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi took notice and awarded the team special permission to travel to Pakistan.
“Issued now,” Mohsin Naqvi wrote in response to journalist Faizan Lakhani’s post, “Thank you for highlighting it,” Naqvi added.
The match will be broadcast live on A Sports, and will begin at 2 pm, with stadium gates opening at 12 noon.
For context, both Pakistan and Afghanistan are winless after losing their opening two matches in Group E against Syria and Myanmar.
Following the home leg, the Pakistan national team will travel to Kuwait for the away fixture against Afghanistan on October 14.
The winner of the group advances to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.
READ: FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Laporte replaces Huijsen in Spain’s squad
