In a set of meetings to establish sporting diplomacy, Pakistan Football Federation Normalization Committee (NC) Chairman, Haroon Malik, met the Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf Bin Said Al Malki, to strengthen ties between the two nations.
Earlier the PFF President met the Denmark Ambassador to Pakistan, Jakob Linulf, to establish strong bonds between the two footballing nations and explore the possibilities of including overseas Pakistani players from Denmark in the Pakistan national side.
The PFF NC chairman has recently faced a lot of criticism after PFF announced on their social media pages that Pakistan will not be able to host Jordan in the upcoming World Cup qualifier match on March 21.
Pakistan Football Federation has adamantly remained defiant and is in search of a neutral venue to host the match in March, albeit Haroon Malik has said that the federation is in communication with FIFA, AFC, and Jordan’s Football Association to extend the deadline of the venue submission which was on January 21.
Jordan’s football team recently defeated Iraq 3-2 in an emphatic comeback and reached the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup for the third time in their history.
Pakistan suffered a heavy defeat by a margin of 4-0 away from home against Saudi Arabia when the two sides met on November 16 in their Group G tie of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers Round 2. Saudi Arabia will face Pakistan on June 6 where Pakistan is expected to host them in Jinnah Stadium Islamabad.
