Indian Government Clears Pakistan's Participation In SAFF Cup, Historic Football Match Set to Reignite Rivalry

This is the first time in five years that the two neighbouring countries would be playing against each other.

AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said India has "done its part" by clearing Pakistan's participation in the eight-nation regional tournament and it's now up to the neighbouring country to complete the formalities.

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New Delhi: The Indian government has cleared the Pakistan football team's participation in the SAFF Cup in Bengaluru from June 21 to July 4, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Thursday.

AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said India has "done its part" by clearing Pakistan's participation in the eight-nation regional tournament and it's now up to the neighbouring country to complete the formalities.

"Yes, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and Sports Ministry all have cleared (Pakistan's participation)," Prabhakaran told PTI.

Also Read: SAFF Cup: India vs Pakistan Football Match To Be Played For First Time In 5 Years

"We have done our part. We welcome them (Pakistan). All the participating countries have got visa clearance. They have to do their part of the visa formalities." India and Pakistan are in the same group and they face each other on June 21 in their campaign opener.

This is the first time in five years that the two neighbouring countries would be playing against each other.

AIFF President @kalyanchaubey speaks 🗣️ about hosting #SAFFChampionship2023 , importance of playing international matches and more 💪🏽#IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/X5wlHZX0Xc

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) May 17, 2023

The last time India took on Pakistan on the football field was in the semi-finals of the 2018 SAFF Championship, which India won 3-1.

Lebanon, Kuwait, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Maldives are the other participating countries.

India 🇮🇳 drawn against Kuwait 🇰🇼, Nepal 🇳🇵, Pakistan 🇵🇰 in #SAFFChampionship2023 🏆#IndianFootball ⚽

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) May 17, 2023

Sri Lanka is not taking part as it is serving suspension from world governing body FIFA, while Afghanistan has left SAFF to join Central Asian Football Federation a few years back.

Pakistan did not feature in two tournaments out of the 13 editions held so far since 1993.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)