The national football team captain says they are confident and will make Pakistan proud by showing excellent performance during upcoming SAFF Women Championship.
LAHORE: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Sept 1st, 2022) Maria Khan, a UAE-based athlete, is excited as she will lead Pakistan women’s football team to take on India to start campaign in SAFF Women Championship.
The women team will witness an historic day on September 7 after an eight-year long pause.
Maria Khan will enter the field for her international debut as a captain.
Talking to a local private tv, Maria open up about her journey, her experience of being in the Pakistan camp and her planning for the team.
The 31-year-old is a goal-keeper turned mid-fielder was of the view that the national women team was quite excited about the upcoming championship.
“We’re excited to compete. The girls are very excited about this opportunity at the international level. We are going to play after a long pause of eight years,” Maria was heard as saying on the TV.
Team is currently in Nepal and busy with their training session.
She said they would the nation proud by their performance in the upcoming championship.
Earlier, Pakistan Football Federation for the SAFF Cup selected Maria as she remained part of the Pakistan football circuit since 2018 and has not only attended national camps but also took part in the national women’s football championship.
Maria, the USA-born, stated that she had been playing football for last 25 years.
She added the preparatory camp ahead of SAFF Cup was an "absolutely amazing" experience and it helped her develop not only as a player on the pitch but also as a person and a human being off the pitch.
Sharing her journey as a footballer, Maria said, “I started playing football at the age of six in the US where I transitioned from a field player to the goalkeeper and then I played as goalkeeper all the way throughout stay in the US,” said Maria, adding that she played Division One soccer at the University of Denver.
“As I graduated I had no idea what to do next. At that time, the women’s pro league in the US was very volatile, there will be one season where it was on and one season where it was off. So, pursuing a professional football career back in 2013, even in the US, was not a realistic option,”.
She stated that she decided to continue her education and ended up being in the UAE and played football professionally.
“It is a matter of pride and proud for me that I am now going to represent Pakistan at an international stage,” she added.
