England-born Pakistani winger Otis Khan has been granted permission by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to play for Pakistan’s national football team in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Having represented Pakistan in the 2023 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, Otis was denied from representing Pakistan in the 1st round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers as there was some confusion about whether Otis had Pakistani heritage or not.
His grandfather had migrated from India to Pakistan post-partition of 1947, which caused some confusion on whether he is qualified to play for Pakistan or not.
Otis Khan is an academy product of the second-most decorated football club in England’s history, Manchester United. Having spent a decade at United, he switched his alliances to Sheffield United, and currently, he represents fourth-tier England club Grimsby Town.
The 28-year-old is preferred in the left wing, which means that he’ll be replacing Shayak Dost if Pakistan head coach Stephen Constantine decides to start Otis.
Shayak gave a near-to-perfect performance against Cambodia in the home-leg match at Jinnah Stadium, Islamabad. He was all dirty and emotional when the final whistle was blown, and Pakistan progressed to the 2nd round of FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the first time in its history.
Pakistan’s next footballing assignment is against Saudi Arabia. Both teams play against each other on 16th November 2023 at Damman Stadium, Saudi Arabia.
