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Pakistan squad for AFC Women's Olympic Qualifiers announced

Maria Khan will lead the national side

By Web Desk

April 01, 2023

Pakistan team during a training session — PFF

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Saturday named the squad that will travel to Tajikistan for the first round of AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying tournament.

Maria Khan will lead the national side while defender Malika-e-Noor has been named her deputy.

The 22-member national team and coaching staff will leave for Tajikistan from Dubai, where the squad held a brief training camp and played matches against local clubs, on April 2.

The Pakistan women’s team, which is placed in Group E, will kick start its campaign against Philippines on April 5. Their remaining matches are against Hong Kong and the hosts Tajikistan on April 8 and 11, respectively.

26 teams have been divided in seven groups for the first round of the qualifying.

It must be noted that the winners of each group in this round will advance to the second round, where they will be joined by the five highest seeded teams — DPR Korea, Japan, Australia, China PR, and Korea Republic.

Four teams from the second round — three group winners and the best-ranked runners-up — then face off in the third round where they play two pairs of home and away matches with the two eventual winners qualifying for the Women’s Olympic football tournament in Paris in 2024.