Sajjad to supervise U16 football trials in Karachi from today

KARACHI: Pakistan Under-16 football team head coach Sajjad Mehmood is busy scouting players for the national team which will feature in the Under-16 SAFF Cup and AFC Under-16 Qualifiers 2024.

Sajjad, a former Pakistan senior team assistant coach, is in Karachi and will see the final trials of Sindh here at Korangi. "Yes, two-day final trials will be held here on Wednesday and Thursday here at Korangi. As many as 35 players from interior Sindh and others from Karachi will feature in the final trials,” Sajjad told 'The News'.

“Trials in Balochistan will begin from February 13 in various regions including Gawadar, Turbat, Nushki, Chaman, Uthal, Ormara ad Quetta. The final trials there will be held on February 21 and 22,” he said.

“The trials schedule in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, Islamabad and AJK will be announced later,” he said. The Under-16 SAFF Cup will be held in Bhutan in September.

“We already have some under-16 players and the boys picked through trials at various regions will be invited for a couple of weeks training in Lahore in March and then we will pick the probables for a proper camp which will be held after Ramadan,” Sajjad said.