By Ijaz Chaudhry
Sports teams from abroad are generally reluctant to travel to Pakistan for the security concerns. But the recent staging of the Asian Football Confederation under 16 qualifiers in the country was a breath of fresh air for the Pakistani sports enthusiasts.
AFC U/ 16 qualifiers were held in 10 countries with five or four countries in each group. 10 group winners and best 5 second place from all groups to qualify for the tournament’s final leg in Thailand. As host, Thailand are granted automatic qualification.
Pakistani city of Lahore staged the group E games. Apart from the host Pakistan, the other competing teams were Iran, Sri Lanka and UAE. All the matches were held in the Punjab Stadium with two ties scheduled daily at 4PM and 7PM with the latter played under floodlights.
All the matches were televised live by a private TV channel, GEO Sports. There were good crowds for most of the games.
The tournament went as per the script. The favourites Iran won all their three ties. UAE were second with two victories and one defeat.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who both had lost their first two matches, played the last game of the tourney which ended in a goalless draw. However, hosts finished third due to a better goal difference. Pakistan, in fact, had their moments in the earlier games.
In the opening tie vs UAE, Pakistan dominated the first half for most of the time without availing many chances that came their way. UAE were the better side in the second half and secured three points by scoring two goals. In the post-match press conference, the UAE coach commented, “We never expected Pakistan to play so well”.
Iran’s superiority in the match against Pakistan, which they won 2-0, was never in doubt but the host did put a brave fight. The Pakistani defence, especially the goal keeper, was outstanding. So it was a surprise when Sri Lanka, who had lost 0-8 and 0-6 against Iran and UAE respectively, drew with Pakistan.
Fool proof security was provided to the visiting teams and the AFC officials, who supervised the qualifying round. And they all expressed gratitude to Pakistanis for being wonderful hosts in every respect.
