Pakistan arrives in groups owing to a ticket shortage and arrives six hours before the start of the SAFF Championship

The Pakistani football team did not have the expected lead-up to its SAFF Championship debut against the hosts, with more than half of the squad getting here barely six hours before the match on Wednesday owing to the inability to purchase tickets for a single flight.

After the Pakistani squad landed in Mumbai from Mauritius around 1:00 am on Wednesday, an odd series of events began.

The 32-person Pakistani team had to divide into two groups after being unable to obtain tickets on a single flight for both the players and coaching staff.

Due to complications with immigration clearance at the Mumbai airport, the second group had to take a 9.15 am flight instead of the first group’s 4:00 am departure for Bengaluru.

Only six hours before the game’s start, the second group finally made it to their team hotel near Kanteerava Stadium.

Despite the Pakistani players’ tardy arrival, PTI believes that the match would still commence at its scheduled time of 7.30 pm IST.

“Yes! There are currently no plans to postpone the game, according to an official familiar with the situation who spoke to PTI.

For the visiting Pakistani squad, the Karnataka State Football Association, the local organising body, has put in place a comprehensive security system.

The Pakistani team will get excellent protection, and senior city police officers have informed us. They will be given with a security specialist to accompany them, as well as additional measures like an escort car for the team bus, police personnel layer at the team hotel and at the site,” KSFA secretary M Satyanarayan told PTI.

In the SAFF Championship, Pakistan is slated to play India on June 21, Kuwait on June 24, and Nepal on June 27.

Additionally, this is the first football game between Pakistan and India since September 2018. India had trounced the neighbours 3-1 on that particular day in the SAFF competition semifinal.

The uncertainty surrounding Pakistan’s preparation for the competition was brought on by the delay in the processing of visas.

The Pakistani team’s journey to India for the competition will go without a hitch thanks to the Indian High Commission in Mauritius’ final approval of all outstanding paperwork on Monday night.

The Pakistani squad travelled to Mauritius to compete in the Four-Nation competition, which was won by Djibouti.