Pakistan’s men’s national football team will play in a FIFA-sanctioned event for the first time when they take part in the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup later this year, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) confirmed on Tuesday.
The news, which first surfaced in May, was officially confirmed by the federation after FIFA named Pakistan among the 14 teams set to compete in the tournament. The event will run during the extended international window in September and October.
Pakistan will feature in the main FIFA ASEAN Cup, hosted by Indonesia, alongside Malaysia, India, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The main competition includes eight teams in total, and Pakistan is one of three sides invited from outside Southeast Asia, with the rest of the field made up of teams from the region.
PFF president Syed Mohsen Gilani welcomed the announcement and thanked FIFA for including Pakistan in the tournament.
FIFA will divide the teams into groups based on international rankings to keep the competition balanced. Both tournaments will follow a single round-robin format, with group winners progressing to the finals and runners-up meeting in third-place matches.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said that the tournament was designed to give national teams meaningful competitive opportunities and to strengthen football ties across the region.
