LAHORE - The hopes of the Pakistan U-16 football team partici­pating in the upcoming SAFF U16 Championship in Bhu­tan have been dashed, as the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Normalisation Com­mittee (NC) failed to secure the necessary No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). The disappointing devel­opment was officially con­firmed on Tuesday by Ha­roon Malik, Chief of the PFF NC. “We regret to announce that we will not be able to participate in the event due to the unavailability of the NOC,” lamented Malik. “The inability to obtain the NOC in a timely manner is an ex­tremely disheartening set­back for us.” The Pakistan U-16 football team was all set to depart for Bhutan on Tuesday (August 29, 2023) to compete in the champi­onship. Nevertheless, Malik expressed optimism regard­ing the prospects of receiv­ing the NOC for the U19, U23, and national teams, an­ticipating their involvement in the forthcoming events scheduled for September. In response to queries about the matter, DG PSB Shoaib Khoso attributed the delay to incomplete documentation provided by the PFF. Khoso went on to reveal that the PFF’s legal representation had acknowledged the in­adequacy of the paperwork. “Despite the incomplete na­ture of the documentation, we expedited the process­ing of the case. However, the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination raised objec­tions,” Khoso explained.