Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has started the installation of new floodlights in Jinnah Stadium following continuous delays by the stadium administration since October when Pakistan defeated Cambodia by 1-0 in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 1, for the first time in history.
Roberto Mancini’s Saudi Arabia will visit Pakistan on June 6 to play the fifth match of Group G in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 2 and it is an eagerly anticipated clash for Pakistani football fans.
Sources from the administration told ProPakistani, ‘Around 225 floodlights will be installed in the stadium to meet the requirements of FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) delegation who will visit the stadium for inspection on April 6, ahead of Pakistan’s clash with Saudi Arabia.’
The cut-off date to submit the venue to FIFA and AFC for Pakistan’s clash against Saudi Arabia is April 7 but the delegation members will arrive to inspect the stadium a day before.
‘New seats will installed in the VIP area to facilitate the high-pr
ofile dignitaries during the match and the number of seats can extend to around 300,’ the source told ProPakistani.
The sources also told ProPakistani that Deputy Director General Pakistan Sports Board, Muhammad Shahid Islam will visit the stadium for inspection and testing of the floodlights tonight and will oversee the preparations ahead of the AFC delegation visit.
In November last year, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Normalisation Committee President, Haroon Malik indicated that the FIFA standard for floodlights in a stadium is 1800 lumens and requested the Pakistan Sports Board to install the floodlights for the national team’s FIFA Qualifier matches in March and June.
PSB and PFF had a tussle in January and Pakistan was in danger of losing the hosting rights for the Jordan match the federation requested FIFA to give three extensions on the trot but still, the floodlights could not be installed in time for the match.
It seems like now the work is in progress in terms of the installation of th
e floodlights and the seats but will the PSB execute the process of the installation in time, that is still a big question.
Source: ProPakistani