KARACHI: Pakistan has withdrawn from the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup qualifying rounds scheduled for next month due to financial difficulties, sources said on Tuesday.
Group B matches, which also included Pakistan, were to be played in Indonesia. However, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) decided to withdraw from the event after failing to secure the necessary funds.
Pakistan was scheduled to play against hosts Indonesia, India, Kyrgyzstan and Hong Kong from 15 January 2025. However, they have now been removed from the official draw.
Earlier in June 2024, PFF had announced the participation of Pakistan Women’s Futsal Team in the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup 2025.
This will be the first top futsal competition for the Pakistan women’s team.
However, the lack of response from FIFA to PFF’s request for funds has deprived Pakistani players of this experience of playing at the top level.
According to sources, PFF had requested financial support from FIFA to participate in the tournament, but no response was received.
The lack of funding has also raised concerns about Pakistan’s participation in the qualifying rounds of the AFC Men’s Asian Cup.
Sources added that if financial support is not secured by January 20, the team may face difficulties in competing in the qualifiers starting in March next year.
The PFF has yet to publicly comment on the matter.