Pakistan team arrived in groups due to unavailability of tickets
Bangalore. Pakistan would not have expected such preparations ahead of their first match of the SAFF Football Championship against hosts India. More than half of the team’s players arrived in India just six hours before Wednesday’s match as not all tickets were available on the same flight.
Strange circumstances started when the Pakistan team reached here from Mauritius at 1 am on Wednesday. The 32 members of the Pakistan contingent, including players and coaching staff, did not get seats on the same plane and had to travel in two groups. The first group took a flight to Bangalore at 4 am but the second group could leave only at 9.15 am due to some issues related to immigration clearance at Mumbai airport. The second group reached the team hotel near the Kanteerava Stadium only after one o’clock, barely six hours before the start of the match. However, it is believed that despite the late arrival of Pakistani players, the match will start at 7.30 pm as per the pre-determined schedule. An official aware of the matter told PTI that yes, the match will be held as per the pre-determined schedule and there is no possibility of its postponement.
KSFA secretary M Satyanarayana told PTI that the Pakistan team will be given top-notch security and we have been informed by top police officials of the city. There will be a vehicle for the security of the team bus, elaborate measures such as deployment of police personnel in multiple layers at the team hotel and venue and a security expert will also be sent along with them. Pakistan to face India on June 21, 24 in SAFF Championship It is to be held from Kuwait on June and from Nepal on 27th June. This is also the first football match between India and Pakistan after September 2018. In the last match, India defeated Pakistan 3-1 in the semi-finals of the SAFF tournament.
Pakistan’s arrival for the tournament was surrounded by uncertainty due to delays in the issuance of visas. On Monday night, the Indian High Commission in Mauritius finally cleared all pending applications, paving the way for the Pakistani team to travel to India for the tournament. The Pakistan team was in Mauritius to participate in the four-nation tournament which was won by Djibouti.
