A Breakthrough That Suddenly Stopped
Pakistan’s women’s football team finally looked like it had momentum. In April, the team traveled to Ivory Coast for the FIFA Women’s Series, marking Pakistan’s first-ever appearance at a senior FIFA-sanctioned women’s event. There, they produced the biggest win in the country’s women’s football history: an 8-0 demolition of Turks and Caicos Islands. Forward Nadia Khan became Pakistan’s all-time leading scorer during the match, while fans online celebrated what felt like a turning point for women’s football in the country. For once, Pakistan’s women’s team was not just participating internationally. It was winning convincingly. Then everything stopped again.
Why This Hurts More
Men’s cricket has neutral venues. Men’s hockey still receives institutional backing. Bigger sports usually find ways around political deadlock. Women’s football in Pakistan does not have those luxuries. There are no major broadcast deals, limited sponsorships, and very few international fixtures. For many players, the SAFF Women’s Championship is one of the only chances they get to regularly compete at a regional level. Missing it is not just disappointing. It disrupts development entirely.
Missing South Asia’s Biggest Tournament
Despite the momentum, Pakistan will not participate in the SAFF Women’s Championship, the region’s biggest women’s football tournament. According to multiple reports, the team did not receive the required travel clearance and No Objection Certificate needed to compete in India amid continuing political tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi. That means a team coming off historic performances is now back on the sidelines while the rest of South Asia competes in Goa. After the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers in 2025, Pakistan reportedly went through multiple FIFA windows without arranging international friendlies. Jordan even offered to host women’s friendlies at one stage, but the plans reportedly collapsed because of financial and administrative difficulties inside Pakistani football. So when Pakistan misses tournaments like SAFF, there is often nothing replacing them.
A Team Improving Faster Than The System Around It
The frustrating part for many supporters is that the players themselves are clearly improving. Pakistan defeated Indonesia and Kyrgyz Republic during AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifying and then followed it with the historic FIFA Series win in Africa. Coaches and players repeatedly spoke about wanting regular matches, consistency, and long-term planning. Instead, the team now faces another uncertain gap without competitive football. The wider political logic may remain unchanged, but the consequences fall almost entirely on the athletes. A team that just produced the biggest victory in Pakistan women’s football history is once again left waiting for the next chance to play.
Sources: FIFA, AFC, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Dawn, GeoSuper, The News
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