Al-Nakba tournament from May 10 [The News]

KARACHI: Al-Nakba International Football tournament, featuring five nations, will now be held from May 10 to 19, a top official of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) told ‘The News’ on Tuesday.

“After rescheduling, the organisers have written to us that the tournament will now be held from May 10 to 19,” PFF secretary Col Ahmad Yar Lodhi said.

The tournament was earlier pencilled in for May 1-15 but was rescheduled due to unavoidable circumstances.

Lodhi said that the opening match would be held between Iraq and Palestine. Pakistan were likely to meet Sri Lanka on May 11, Lodhi said. Jordon is the fifth outfit in the competitions. Two leading teams would make it to the final, the official said. “It would be a good tournament and especially our young lot will get a good exposure,” Lodhi said.

He said that Pakistan team would have to reach there a couple of days before the slots. This is the second time that Pakistan are going to participate in the competitions. Pakistan appeared in the tournament in 2012 when they were preparing for the AFC Under-22 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Saudi Arabia. Zavisa Milosavljevic was Pakistan’s coach at the time. Pakistan team camp is in operation these days under coach Mohammed Shamlan in Lahore.