Pakistan to play football WC qualifier against Cambodia

Qatar will get the first action of the FIFA World Cup it hosts in about three-and-half years' time on June 11 after it was announced that Pakistan will play the home leg of its first-round qualifier for the 2022 showpiece against Cambodia in Doha.

The announcement came in the early hours of Thursday by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) faction that is recognised by global football body FIFA.

"We can confirm the venue for the match has been approved by FIFA," a FIFA spokesperson told Dawn on Thursday, referring to the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium - the 12,000-seat venue that is home to Qatari clubs Al-Ahli and Al-Sailiya. The venue is not among the eight venues for the 2022 World Cup, which FIFA said on Wednesday will remain a 32-team event.

The announcement to play the home leg in Doha confirmed long-running rumours that the PFF led by Faisal Saleh Hayat, who is accepted by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation as Pakistan's football chief, was looking to move the home leg away from the country.

Pakistan play Cambodia in Phnom Penh in the first leg on June 6.

The Asian qualifiers for the World Cup also act as preliminaries for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and progressing to the second round is crucial as it ensures four years of competitive fixtures for the national team.

Pakistan missed out on that opportunity last time around, losing to Yemen in the first round. Then, Pakistan were due to play Yemen at home in the second leg in Lahore but the game was shifted to Bahrain following unrest after twin bombings in churches in the Punjab capital.