ISLAMABAD: For the first time in history, Pakistan's women's national football team will compete at a FIFA event.
The side will depart for Côte d'Ivoire on Monday to take part in the FIFA Series.
At a press conference in Lahore on Sunday, head coach Adeel Rizki, captain Maria Khan, and Women's Football Department Director Mejzgaan Orakzai each delivered the same message: the team is going to win.
"I believe this is one of the strongest squads we've had so far," Rizki said. "We expect to go there and compete at the highest level and make Pakistan proud."
Pakistan will face Turks and Caicos Islands, Mauritania, and host nation Ivory Coast, all outside the team's usual AFC confederation. Women's Football Department Director Mejzgaan Orakzai said the invitation was secured through the direct efforts of PFF President Mohsen Gilani.
"Without his personal involvement and the collaboration of PFF staff, we wouldn't have been able to do this," Orakzai said.
Captain Maria Khan said Ivory Coast's World Cup experience changes nothing. Her team has faced that level before.
"We played the Philippines, which was also a World Cup team," she said. "The pressure is on Ivory Coast. It's not on us."
Maria Khan cited one development as proof of how far the program has come. Several players in the squad are arriving directly from professional club football.
"That is one of the best signs for our national team," she said.
On selection, the head coach dismissed any divide between diaspora and local players. "The question is always: which Pakistani player is best suited for which position," he said.
The head coach outlined the program's targets in order: the SAFF Championship, Asian qualifier berths, then Olympic and World Cup qualification.
Meanwhile, Mejzgaan Orakzai stated the PFF Women's Football Department, which operates as an all-women unit, is also working to build pathways for women coaches, referees, and administrators across all levels of the game.
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