AFC U-17 Football C’ship
Pakistan to clash India on 13th November
Bureau Report

LAHORE—Pakistan under-17 football team will take on India in the qualifying phase (Group-G) of AFC Under-17 Football Championship on November 13 at New Delhi. Later Pakistan will meet Tajikistan on November 15 in three-nation group. Only the players born on or after 1 January 1990 are eligible to appear in Delhi’s event, said a spokesman of Pakistan Football Federation here on Friday.
Bahrain Football Association and General Organization for Youth and Affairs, on the request of President, PFF, Faisal Saleh Hayat have provided services of three coaches free of cost to Pakistan. From Jassim Mohammed Abbas and Khudair Abdulnabi Shamtoot one will accompany the under-17 team om the trip of India. Both of them are scheduled to arrive Pakistan on November 6, he said.
The third coach, Salman Ahmed Sharida is already attached to National team and his first assignment will be SAFF Championship 2005. “Currently, PIA’s Muhammad Shamim and Zafar Iqbal are imparting training to the under-17 team”, he said.
PFF has already appointed Baluchistan Football Association’s President Muhammad Yunus Changezi who is also Provincial Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs as manager of the team. The qualifying competition is to be played from November 13-17 with the 14 group winners automatically advancing to join the hosts in the final rounds whose venue has not yet been decided.
In the event that the host country wins its qualifying group, the runners-up in that group will automatically advance to the final rounds.
The best runner-up in the three ASEAN groups will meet the best runner-up from the East Asian groups to decide one additional spot in the AFC U-17 Championship finals. Pakistan is in West Asia Group H along with hosts India and Tajikistan.

Clash worries foreign coaches

PESHAWAR—Pakistan will take on India in the qualifying phase (group-G) of the AFC Under-17 Football Championship to be held on November 13 at Indian capital New Delhi. Certainly the Bahrain coach of Pakistan and Uzbek coach of India would be worrying about the clash between two arch-rival. Pakistan will also clash with Tajikistan on Nov 15 in three-nation group. Only the players born on or after 1 January 1990 are eligible to appear in Delhi’s event. Bahrian’s Jassim Mohammed Abbas (Al Ahli Club) or Khudair Abdulnabi Shamtoot (Itefaq Club) will act as Chief Coach of Dushanbe-bound team. On the request of Faisal Saleh Hayat, Bahrain Football Association and General Organization for Youth and Affairs, Bahrian, have provided three coaches free of cost to Pakistan. Salman Ahmed Sharida is already attached with National team and his first assignment will be SAFF Championship 2005. Uzbekistan’s Islam Akhmedov has been reappointed as the chief coach of India’s Under-17 and Under-20 teams on July 28, 2005. He was coaching Uzbekistan second division club Andijon before the appointment.—Agencies