KARACHI: Pakistan has withdrawn from the women’s AFC Futsal Cup qualifiers scheduled for next month due to financial constraints, sources said on Tuesday.
The second group matches, which included Pakistan, were scheduled to be held in Indonesia. However, the Pakistan Football Federation decided to withdraw from the event after failing to secure the necessary funds.
Pakistan were scheduled to play against hosts Indonesia, India, Kyrgyzstan and Hong Kong from 15 January 2025. However, they have now been excluded from the official draw.
Earlier, in June 2024, the Pakistan Futsal Federation announced the participation of the Pakistan women’s futsal team in the 2025 AFC Women’s Futsal Cup.
This was the first ever futsal competition for the Pakistan women’s team.
However, FIFA’s failure to respond to PFF’s request for funds has deprived Pakistani players of the experience of playing at the highest level.
According to the sources, the Palestinian Federation requested financial support from FIFA to participate in the tournament, but did not receive any response.
The lack of funding has also raised concerns about Pakistan’s participation in the men’s Asian Cup qualifiers.
The sources added that if financial support is not secured by next January 20, the team may face difficulties in competing in the qualifiers scheduled to begin in March next year.
The PFF has yet to comment publicly on the matter.