KARACHI: Pakistan football team’s home fixture against Afghanistan in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, scheduled for October 9 in Islamabad, appears increasingly unlikely to go ahead as planned due to visa issues preventing the full Afghan squad from travelling.
Both the Afghanistan and Pakistan football federations have now approached the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) with their grievances.
The Afghanistan Football Federation now wants the AFC to shift the game to a neutral venue, while the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) wants the match to be called off and a walkover to be awarded to Pakistan.
According to sources, as of Tuesday evening, several Afghan players had yet to receive Pakistani visas. The sources told Geo News that only 10 players and three officials were issued visas last week after completing biometric verification at the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul, while the majority of the team, based outside Afghanistan, remain without clearance.
The issue, according to sources, is attributed to administrative lapses by the Afghanistan Football Federation, which submitted visa applications late on September 27, just 11 days before the scheduled match.
Under AFC competition regulations, teams must apply for host country visas at least 30 days in advance. Pakistan’s football authorities received the visa reference number on October 2, after which they immediately alerted government departments.
Not only were the visa applications submitted late, but the information about players’ interviews/biometric locations on the applications was also incorrect, according to sources.
PFF sources said that the process could have been managed despite the delay, but what created the problem was that the visa applications mentioned Afghanistan as the biometric location for all players, including those residing abroad. As a result, only players who completed their biometrics in Kabul were issued visas.
Both football federations have now taken the matter to the AFC, presenting opposing positions. The Afghanistan Football Federation has requested that the match be shifted to a neutral venue, while the PFF insists that the visa complications are Afghanistan’s fault and has called for a walkover in Pakistan’s favor if the match cannot proceed.
The PFF has argued that moving the fixture to a neutral venue would impose unnecessary financial and logistical burdens on Pakistan, emphasizing that the host nation has met all its obligations.
Sources within the AFC said the governing body is reviewing the situation and could consider either rescheduling the match to a future international window or awarding a walkover, depending on the final assessment of responsibility.
The decision now rests with the AFC Competitions Committee.
