The visiting Mongolian team, however, is unhappy with the state of the football pitch in the stadium.
“The pitches are very dry here and we were hoping it would be greener,” Erchim’s coach Batnasan told The Express Tribune. “Our players have to be very careful as this can cause serious injury. The game, too, will be very slow.”
KRL coach Tariq Lutfi, who is very confident about his team ahead of the opening match, agreed with Batnasan, adding that the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) tried to maintain the ground but conditions could have been better.
“We have spent the last two weeks practicing here so we’re very comfortable with this pitch,” said Lutfi. “I feel that it will work to our advantage. The PFF could have improved the quality since they had enough time before the event.”
The President’s Cup features three teams with the top two qualifying for the next round that will be played in September.
The event was dealt a major blow when Bangladesh’s Sheikh Jamal Football Club pulled out of the event due to security reasons.
Batnasan, meanwhile, was satisfied with the security arrangements in Lahore. Similarly, Chinese Taipei Champions Taiwan Power Company’s coach Chen Knei Jen said that his team was anxious about coming to Pakistan but it feels safe in Lahore.
“We don’t feel threatened,” said Jen. “We arrived on Sunday and are satisfied with the security arrangements.”
All three sides in the event will play each other once. The second match takes place on Thursday between Taiwan Power Company and Erchim FC.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 8th, 2012.
COMMENTS (4)
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@Sim: actually the picture used in this news is from Govt High School Ground in Chaman, Balochistan. That is one of the worst grounds you can ever play in anywhere.
The Punjab Stadium pitch is a different matter though
@craig
Just because the country is a dry place, doesn't mean that the football field has to be dry too!
If that field in the picture is where they'll be playing, I would have said the same thing...this is a formal competition match, not some backyard kids' game...
What? The Mongolian team was unhappy with the pitch? And because it was TOO dry? When was the last time they were in Mongolia? This is about the driest place on earth! I thought the article was going to say they were missing their home pitches because they thought there weren't enough rocks or dirt!!!!!!!
But why would PFF bother about the quality of the pitch? They are so busy improving the quality of their pockets!