LAHORE: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Wednesday, confirmed that they have received clearance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to participate in the four-nation tournament in Mauritius.

Following the issuance of the No-Objection Certificate (NOC), the national team will depart for Mauritius on Wednesday night.

Salman Sufi, the head of Pakistan’s strategic reforms, had earlier announced on his official Twitter account that the NOC had been accepted.

“Have spoken to the secretary IPC and have been informed that Mauritius NOC has been approved,” wrote Salman Sufi.

Pakistan will start their four-nation tournament campaign against host Mauritius on June 11 before taking on Kenya (June 14) and Djibouti (June 17) respectively.

It is worth mentioning here that the PFF is yet to receive the NOC to participate in the upcoming South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, scheduled to take place in India later this month.

I granted NOC for the SAFF Championship, the national football team will directly travel to India after concluding the four-nation tournament in Mauritius.

Notably, Pakistan have been drawn with India alongside invitee Kuwait and Nepal in group A of the SAFF Championship 2023.

A total of eight teams, divided into two groups, will participate in the South Asian tournament.

Group A features host India, Pakistan, Nepal and Kuwait while Bangladesh, Bhutan, Lebanon and Maldives were drawn in Group B.

Pakistan men’s football team will mark their return to the SAFF Championship after missing the last two out of the 13 editions held since 1993.

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) could not send its men’s team for the 2015 edition held in India due to the lack of funds.

The national side then missed the 2021 edition as they were serving a suspension from FIFA, which was lifted last year in June.

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