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AFC President’s Cup will boost football in Pakistan: Bin Hammam

AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam has predicted that the 3rd edition of the AFC President’s Cup, which will be held in Lahore from May 17-27, 2007, will provide the perfect boost to Pakistani football.

The draw for the eight-club competition takes place on February 3 at the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) House here.

“I am confident that the AFC President’s Cup will prove to be a turning point in the history of Pakistani football,” said Bin Hammam.

“Pakistan has a strong tradition of sports and football is emerging to be one of the country’s passions. The purpose of granting Pakistan the hosting rights for the AFC President’s Cup was to partly exploit the untapped potential of the game in this country.”

“This is a great chance for Pakistani football fans to watch some of Asia’s best club teams in action,” added Bin Hammam.

“This competition will also give a chance to the Pakistan Football Federation to set a high standard and reinforce their reputation as excellent hosts.”

PFF President Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat said the PFF would spare no efforts to ensure a successful competition. “It is a great honour for the PFF to organise the AFC President’s Cup in Lahore. After our success in the AFC U-14 Festival of Football last year, this is another opportunity for the PFF to prove itself.”

“Pakistan Premier League champions Pakistan Army will represent the country in this competition and given their popularity I expect them to be strong contenders for the title,” said Saleh Hayat.

“Since eight international clubs are involved, the media focus on this competition will be big and I hope the fans will also turn up in large numbers to watch the action,” concluded the PFF chief.

The clubs participating in this tournament are (in alphabetical order): Dordoi-Dynamo (Kyrgyzstan), Khemara (Cambodia), Pakistan Army (Pakistan), Ratnam Sports Club (Sri Lanka), Regar-TadAZ (Tajikistan), Tatung (Chinese Taipei), Transport United (Bhutan), TBC (Nepal).