The Indo-Pak football series known as the ‘Clash of the Titans’ has been postponed by the organisers TouchSky Sports to complete the 40 days of mourning of the victims of Birmingham riots. Although no Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) official was available for comments but the orgainsers statement forwarded to the media said: “The two match series between Pakistan and India have been postponed, while the fresh dates of the series will be announced according to FIFA calendar.”
“After getting to know the families over the course of the week, as well as understanding the families’ personal situations and the Islamic faith, we as a company believe, we have a social and moral responsibility to postpone the match and allow the families the time and space to grieve. Our faith calls for a 40 day mourning period, which we whole heartedly respect,” TouchSky Sports official said. Pakistan team were to leave for the UK on August 28 to play their first match on September 3, but fresh schedule was not clear as no PFF statement was issued. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has named Adnan Farooq Ahmed as the captain of the national team for the two-match series against India. Adnan will be assisted by Faisal Iqbal as his vice captain. Experts believe that it is a great combination but only time will tell how far they would take the team and how good their approach would be in the quest against the country’s old rivals. Apart from naming the captain, Adnan Farooq Ahmed, the PFF also announced the team for the series in the UK. Newly appointed captain Adnan said: “As a professional player, I am honoured to be leading the Pakistan team after my nine years association with the team. This will be the greatest day of my career. My first colour was back in 2006 and since then I can say I have been fully committed to represent Pakistan and have always put country over club. I have seen a big effort to improve football in Pakistan and there are positive signs in the younger players. I believe a collective effort from local Pakistanis and international Pakistanis can help Pakistani football.”
National team
Goal Keeper: Muhammad Umer,
Yousuf Ejaz Butt, Jahngir Khan.
Mid-fielders: Adnan Farooq Ahmed (Captain),
Saddam Hussain, Mehmood Khan, Muhammad Adil, Syed Arif Hussain, Kaleem Ullah, Muhammad Ali.
Defender: Haji Muhammad, Alamgir Khan,
Manzoor Ahmed, Ahsan Ullah, Shabbir Khan,
Atif Bashir Qureshi, Faisal Iqbal (Vice Captain).
Forwards: Husnain Abbas,
Muhammad Rizwan Asif, Muhammad Ikram,
Hassan Naveed Bashir, Rehan Munir.
Officials: Tariq Lutfi (Head Coach/Chief of
Delegation), Syed Nasir Ismail (Assistant Coach), Gohar Zaman (Assistant Manger/Assistant Coach), Muhammad Aslam Khan (Goalkeeper Coach), Sardar Naveed Haider Khan (PFF Marketing Director).