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Pakistan women's national football team

The Pakistan women's national football team is the female representative in international women's football for Pakistan. The team was formed in 2010 and has not yet qualified for the AFC Women's Asian Cup or the FIFA Women's World Cup, but has competed in four editions of the biennial SAFF Women's Championship.

Its under-19 and under-16 teams have competed in the qualification rounds of the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship and 2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship respectively.

History

Beginnings (2010–2011)

The Pakistan women's national football team made its international debut at the 11th South Asian Games in Dhaka. Midfielder Ishrat Fatima of Lahore's Sports Sciences Department (Punjab University) was the first captain of the team. It played its first match on 31 January 2010 against India at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.[4] It also faced off against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal in that tournament, winning against Sri Lanka via walkover[5] while losing the other two fixtures. It came in 4th out of 5 teams.

In November 2010, Tariq Lutfi was appointed as the coach of the team.[6] In December 2010, the team, under Lutfi and the new captain, Sana Mehmood (Young Rising Star's captain and central defender), participated in the inaugural SAFF Women's Championship held at Cox's Bazar Stadium. It stood second Group B, winning against Maldives (2–1) and Afghanistan (3–0), while losing heavily to Nepal (0–12). India were the opponents in the semifinal, but Pakistan lost 8–0 and were thus eliminated. In this tournament, Mehwish Khan became the first ever goal-scorer for Pakistan (in the match against Maldives).

As a result of these official matches, Pakistan entered the FIFA Women's World Rankings for the first time on 18 March 2011. It stood 121 in the World and 22 in Asia.

Further participations (2011–2014)

In May 2011, four members of the team (Abiha Haidar, Roshnan Ali, Sara Mumtaz and coach Ishrat Fatima) went to the United States for a two-week FIFA Women's World Cup Developing Program. They attended seminars, programs, meetings, and practice sessions in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., and visited various local colleges and universities. The group was also hosted for a special dinner at the White House by the US Government for boosting bilateral relations through sports promotion and development.

In September 2012, the team participated in the 2nd SAFF Women's Championship held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Pakistan lost against Nepal (0–8) and Afghanistan (0–4) before earning a consolation win against Maldives (3–0).

Pakistan played its first international friendly series against Bahrain in October 2014.[7] Three matches were played at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa, with the home side winning all of them. These matches were organized to help prepare the team for the upcoming 3rd edition of the SAFF Women's Championship.

Pakistan hosted the 2014 SAFF Women's Championship in November 2014, with all matches being held at Jinnah Sports Stadium in Islamabad. The hosts lost against Sri Lanka (1–2)[8] and Nepal (0–2), but won against Bhutan (4–1),[9] scoring four goals in a match for the first time.

Hiatus (2014–2022)

From November 2014 to September 2022, the team saw no action due to the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) being suspended several times by FIFA for infighting and third-party interference.[10][11] The suspensions were removed occasionally, but not in time for Pakistan to participate in the 2016 and 2019 editions of the SAFF Women's Championship, and in the 2016 and 2019 editions of the South Asian Games. As a result of no matches being played, the team lost its FIFA ranking.

Return (2022–present)

On 30 June 2022, FIFA lifted PFF's suspension after a period of 14 months.[12] As a result, PFF was able to send in Pakistan women's team's entry for the 2022 SAFF Women's Championship. The entry was confirmed on 9 July 2022, which meant that the team would be playing its first international match since 2014.[13] A 35-member training camp was held at Lahore in August 2022 under new head coach Adeel Rizki,[14] after which a 23-member squad was announced on 24 August 2022. Hajra Khan, Malika-e-Noor, Syeda Mahpara, Nisha Ashraf, Roshnan Ali, Sahar Zaman, and Zulfia Nazir were the only players who were part of the team that last played in 2014; the rest were given their first call-ups. Two overseas players, Nadia Khan and Maria Khan, were also included for the first time.[15] The captaincy was handed over to Maria Khan from Hajra Khan,[16] while Malika-e-Noor was named the vice-captain.[17]

Pakistan made its return to international football on 7 September 2022, with 58th-ranked India being its first opponent in the group stage of the 2022 SAFF Women's Championship at the Dasharath Rangasala in Kathmandu. Pakistan lost 3–0,[18] which was followed by a 6–0 loss against Nepal in the next match which meant the team could not progress to the semifinals.[19] In the final group stage fixture, Pakistan recorded its biggest win when it defeated Maldives 7–0, courtesy of four goals by Nadia Khan, who became the team's joint record goal scorer.[20][21] It was also the first time a player had scored three goals or more in a match for Pakistan.[22]

In January 2023, the team visited Saudi Arabia for a four-nation international friendly tournament.[23] It won its first game 1–0 against Comoros,[24] the first time it faced a non-Asian opponent,[25] lost the next fixture 2–1 against Mauritius,[26] before drawing the final match 1–1 against hosts Saudi Arabia.[27] With four points in three matches, Pakistan finished as runners-up at the tournament,[28] with captain Maria Khan being declared as the player of the tournament.

In April 2023, Pakistan played its first competitive fixtures when it made its first appearance in the first round of the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The team lost 4–0 against Philippines[29] and 2–0 against Hong Kong,[30] but won 1–0 against hosts Tajikistan.[31]

The team was to visit Singapore in July for two friendly fixtures against the host team. However, their departure was delayed due to visa issues which meant only one match could be played.[32] Singapore won that match 1–0.[33]

In August, it was confirmed that Pakistan will participate in a six-team tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia in September.[34]

Results and fixtures

Legend

  Win  Draw  Lose  Fixture

2023

2024

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of 17 September 2023[35]

Manager history

As of 28 September 2023, after the match against  Laos.

Players

Current squad

The following 22 players were called up for the International Friendly against Saudi Women's Friendly Tournament on septembre 2023.

Caps and goals updated 18 July 2023 following the match against  Laos.

Recent call-ups

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

AFC Women's Asian Cup

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

SAFF Women's Championship

South Asian Games

Head-to-head record

Key
  Positive balance (more wins than losses)
  Neutral balance (as many wins as losses)
  Negative balance (more losses than wins)

The following table shows Pakistan's all-time official international record per opponent:

Last updated: Pakistan vs Laos, 29 September 2023.

See also

References

  1. ^ "PFF names women's squad for Saudi Arabia tour, retains Rizki as coach despite criticism". 16 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Pakistan women's football team beats Maldives 7-0 and registers their biggest win". Minute Mirror. 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  3. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  4. ^ "11th South Asian Games: India to meet Pakistan in women football". Business Recorder. 12 January 2010. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Pakistan female footballers record maiden win". The Nation. 6 February 2010. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Lutfi appointed as coach for Pakistan women football team". Dawn. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  7. ^ Raheel, Natasha (22 October 2014). "First international tour: Pakistan women open campaign in Bahrain on Thursday". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  8. ^ Abbasi, Kashif (12 November 2014). "Pakistan suffer defeat as SAFF women's event commences". Dawn. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  9. ^ a b Ali, Mohsin (17 November 2014). "Pakistan thrash Bhutan 4–1 in SAFF Women's Soccer". The Nation. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  10. ^ Raheel, Natasha (11 October 2017). "FIFA suspends Pakistan Football Federation". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  11. ^ "FIFA suspends Pakistan football after 'hostile takeover'". Al Jazeera. 8 April 2021. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  12. ^ "FIFA lifts suspension of Pakistan Football Federation". FIFA. 30 June 2022. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  13. ^ Wasim, Umaid (10 July 2022). "Pakistan's entry confirmed for SAFF Women's Championship". Dawn. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Rizki announced as Pakistan head coach ahead of SAFF Women's Championship". Dawn. 20 August 2022. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  15. ^ Lakhani, Faizan (24 August 2022). "Pakistan finalises 23-member squad for SAFF Women Cup". Geo News. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  16. ^ Lakhani, Faizan (30 August 2022). "Pakistan's football team captain eyes victory ahead of SAFF Women Championship". The News International. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Pak women football team to depart today". The News International. 28 August 2022. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  18. ^ "Pakistan go down against India in SAFF Women's Championship". The News International. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  19. ^ "Bangladesh hit Pakistan for six at SAFF Women's Championship". Dawn. 11 September 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  20. ^ "Nadia hits four as Pakistan crush Maldives 7-0". Dawn. 14 September 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Pakistan women's football team beats Maldives 7-0 and registers their biggest win". Minute Mirror. 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  22. ^ "Nadia Khan stars as Pakistan thump Maldives in SAFF Women's Championship". Samaa TV. 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  23. ^ "Pakistan to feature in four-nation event". Dawn. 4 December 2022. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Pakistan women beat Comoros 1-0 in Four-Nation Cup". The Nation. 13 January 2023. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  25. ^ Trehan, Dev (11 January 2023). "London Seaward attacker Zahmena Malik dazzles on international debut for Pakistan Women in win over Comoros". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  26. ^ "Pakistan lose to Mauritius". The News International. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  27. ^ "Pakistan's Maria Khan scores stunner but Saudi Arabia win four-nation cup". Geo Super. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  28. ^ "Pakistan's women continue international return". FIFA. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  29. ^ "Philippines overwhelm Pakistan in 4-0 triumph". Dawn. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  30. ^ "Pair of own goals see Pakistan fall to Hong Kong". Dawn. 9 April 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  31. ^ "Zahmena helps Pakistan grab consolation win". Dawn. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  32. ^ Lakhani, Faizan (14 July 2023). "PFF announces women's team squad for match against Singapore". Geo Super. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  33. ^ "Women's football team go down to Singapore". Dawn. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  34. ^ "Pakistan women's team to compete in six-nation football event in KSA". Dawn. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  35. ^ "Pak women team off to Saudi Arabia". 17 September 2023.

External links