Karachi: Pakistan socca football will open their Socca World Cup account with a match against a tough football playing nation Spain on Sunday, September 23 in Lisbon.
The match will be played at 9:15 pm Portugal time, which is four hours behind Pakistan time. It means fans in Pakistan can watch the exciting match at 1:15 am, September 24. PTV Sports will telecast live Pakistan matches.
Pakistan has been placed in Group ‘B’ along with Spain, Russia and Moldova in the inaugural event. A total of 32 teams from across the globe will be seen in action during the Six-a-Side tournament.
The 32 teams have been divided into eight groups of four teams each. After playing matches against one another in the group, two top teams from each group will qualify for last-16 knockout round. From here, teams would progress to quarterfinals, semifinals and eventually final.
Pakistan will then take on another Group B team Moldova on September 24 at 3:00 pm (Pakistan time). The men in green will play their last pool match after two days of rest against Russia on September 27 at 3:00 pm (Pakistan time).
The Last-16 round matches and quarterfinals will be played on September 28 while the semifinals, third place play-off and the final will be played on September 29.
International Socca Federation (ISF) Vice President Shahzaib Trunkwala hoped that the event will be a success story and prayed that Pakistan put a strong show in Europe. Trunkwala is also the President of the World Group that owns Leisure Leagues.
He said that the one of the aim to establish Pakistan socca team and send them to compete in Socca World Cup abroad has been to show the world Pakistan’s correct soft image.
He also requested Pakistan football fans to support Pakistan team during the event and pray for their success.
Pakistan will be represented by Lahore’s Champions ICAW (I Can and Will), which won Leisure Leagues National Championship last month to qualify for the Socca World from Pakistan. Another four players added to the 10-member Lahore squad – one player each from the other three semifinalist teams and one player from Pakistan team that featured in Street Child World Cup.