Pak-Afghan friendly still on schedule [Express Tribune]

KARACHI: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has confirmed that the Pakistan-Afghanistan fixture in February will remain unperturbed despite an unfortunate attack on the Afghanistan coach in his home country.

Afghanistan coach and vice president Muhammad Yousuf Kargar was attacked in Kabul, where he was stabbed in the back and then later hospitalised.

The Afghan side is scheduled to play a friendly match against Pakistan on February 6 in Islamabad. The PFF will begin its national camp on January 25 as they expect a tough competition from their neighbours.

Earlier, Afghanistan had thrashed Pakistan 3-0 in Kabul in August.

“It was an unfortunate incident,” PFF Director Pervez Saeed Mir told The Express Tribune. “So far, all the preparations are in place and we have not heard anything from Afghanistan yet. The match is on and we’ll be looking forward to it.”

Mir added that the team has only one match to play and the PFF will organise the event to the best of its abilities.

“There is only one match, so we’re confident that the friendly will go ahead smoothly.

“We tried contacting the Afghanistan federation after the incident but they weren’t responding. For now, the match will take place according to schedule.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan assistant coach Hassan Baloch believes Kargar’s formidable side will play well despite the incident. “Kargar has built the Afghanistan team and he has been around for a very long time,” said Baloch. “Of course this incident is sad, but they have enough time to prepare and play well.”