After days of visa uncertainty and travel chaos, Afghanistan’s national football team will face Pakistan in Islamabad tomorrow in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, a fixture overshadowed by controversy, exhaustion, and questions over fair play.
Islamabad | By Sayer Zaland
In a saga that has exposed both logistical and administrative failures, Afghanistan’s national football team will finally take the field against Pakistan on Thursday, October 9, in Islamabad. The match, part of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, comes after days of uncertainty over visa delays that left players stranded across multiple countries, a situation many Afghan fans have described as humiliating and unprecedented.
Mustafa Hashimi, Media Officer of the Afghanistan Football Federation, confirmed late Wednesday that all visas have now been issued and that players based abroad will receive theirs on arrival at Islamabad Airport. “The match will proceed as scheduled,” Hashimi said, confirming the fixture at the originally announced time and venue.
However, the team’s arrival in Pakistan comes after a draining ordeal. Several players spent over 24 hours waiting in Dubai airport, with many traveling separately due to visa complications. Afghan football journalist and ASJF Vice President Firooz Mashoof described the episode as another low point in the administration of Afghan football. “The team is traveling tired and dispirited to face an opponent that showed neither fairness nor sportsmanship,” he said. “Pakistan not only delayed the visas but even scheduled the match timing to its advantage.”
Mashoof noted that the meeting between former national captain Islamuddin Amiri and current head coach Vincenzo Annese in Dubai appeared cordial despite past controversies. Amiri was previously excluded from the national setup following public criticism of AFF President Yusuf Kargar’s management, yet his continued friendship with Annese underlined a personal rather than institutional divide. “Sadly, the kind of discipline and leadership we once saw under coaches like Ashley Westwood no longer exists,” Mashoof added. “The team departs for this crucial match in a state of confusion and disorganization.”
Fans have been equally outspoken. One supporter, Sakhi Haidari, lamented the chaotic preparations in a viral social media post: “How helpless must a national team be when every player enters the opponent’s country through a different border, as if smuggled in? Is there anything more painful than this?”
The crisis drew international attention when Pakistani journalist Faizan Lakhani reported that only three Afghan players and ten officials had initially received visas, citing a late submission by the Afghan side on September 27, a violation of AFC regulations that require entry permits to be secured at least 30 days before the match. Pakistan’s Football Federation (PFF) reportedly appealed to the AFC to allow visa-on-arrival arrangements for the remaining Afghan players.
Despite the administrative turmoil, Afghanistan’s squad now stands ready for what could become one of the most emotionally charged fixtures in recent memory. “We just want to play and win for our people,” one team source said off-record as players boarded the final flight to Islamabad.
Kick-off is set for 2:00 p.m. Pakistan time (1:30 p.m. Kabul time) at Jinnah Stadium.
For many Afghans, the match represents far more than football, it’s a test of resilience and pride amid political and institutional uncertainty.
“God willing, we will win,” wrote one fan under the federation’s latest post. “Because victory is the only thing that can ease this pain.
