The Pakistan women's national football team is the female representative

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team for

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The team was formed in 2010 and has not yet entered the AFC Women's Asian Cup or FIFA Women's World Cup, but has competed in four editions of the biennial

SAFF Women's Championship The SAFF Women's Championship, also called the ''South Asian Football Federation Women's Cup'', is the main association football competition of the women's national football teams, governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). All seve ...

. Its under-19 and under-16 teams have competed in the qualification rounds of the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship and 2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship respectively.

History

Beginnings (2010–2011)

The Pakistan women's national football team made its international debut at the 11th South Asian Games in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

Midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Ishrat Fatima Ishrat Fatima (or Ishrat Fatima Saqib) is a former Pakistani newsreader and radio presenter who worked for Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan. In 2019, she received civil award for her services. Early life She was born in Pakistan and she ...

of Lahore’s Sports Sciences Department ( Punjab University) was the first captain of the team. It played its first match on 31 January 2010 against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. It also faced off against

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

in that tournament, winning against Sri Lanka via

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while losing the other two fixtures. It came in 4th out of 5 teams. In November 2010,

Tariq Lutfi Umar Farooq Tariq Lutfi (born 20 September 1951) is a Pakistani coach and former player. He is the manager of Sui Southern Gas. He played his entire career at Pakistan Airlines. He was also the caretaker manager of the Pakistan national footb ...

was appointed as the coach of the team. In December 2010, the team, under Lutfi and the new captain, Sana Mehmood ( Young Rising Star’s captain and

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

), participated in the inaugural SAFF Women's Championship held at

Cox's Bazar Stadium Cox's Bazar Stadium, also known as Bir Shrestha Ruhul Amin Stadium is a football stadium situated by the south side of Cox's Bazar Medical College Hospital and east side of Cox's Bazar district council. See also * List of football stadiums in B ...

. It stood second Group B, winning against

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

(2–1) and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

(3–0), while losing heavily to

(0–12).

were the opponents in the semifinal, but Pakistan lost 8–0 and were thus eliminated. In this tournament, Mehwish Khan became the first ever goal-scorer for Pakistan (in the match against Maldives). As a result of these official matches, Pakistan entered the

FIFA Women's World Rankings The FIFA Women's World Rankings for Association football, football were introduced in 2003, with the first rankings published on 16 July of that year, as a follow-on to the existing FIFA World Rankings, Men's FIFA World Rankings. They attempt ...

for the first time on 18 March 2011. It stood 121 in the World and 22 in Asia.

Further participations (2011–2014)

In May 2011, four members of the team ( Abiha Haidar, Roshnan Ali, Sara Mumtaz and coach

) went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for a two-week FIFA Women’s World Cup Developing Program. They attended seminars, programs, meetings, and practice sessions in New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and visited various local colleges and universities. The group was also hosted for a special dinner at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

by the US Government for boosting bilateral relations through sports promotion and development. In September 2012, the team participated in the 2nd SAFF Women's Championship held in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. Pakistan lost against Nepal (0–8) and Afghanistan (0–4) before earning a consolation win against Maldives (3–0). Pakistan played its first international friendly series against

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

in October 2014. Three matches were played at the

Bahrain National Stadium Bahrain National Stadium ( ar, ستاد البحرين الوطني; transliterated: Stād al-Bahrayn al-Watanī) is the national stadium of Bahrain, located in Riffa. It can accommodate 24,000 spectators and is used mostly for football matches. ...

in Riffa, with the home side winning all of them. These matches were organized to help prepare the team for the upcoming 3rd edition of the

. Pakistan hosted the 2014 SAFF Women's Championship in November 2014, with all matches being held at

Jinnah Sports Stadium Jinnah Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 48,000 people and is the largest stadium in Pakistan. Stadium This stadium was built in ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. The hosts lost against

(1–2) and

(0–2), but won against

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

(4–1), scoring four goals in a match for the first time.

Hiatus (2014–2022)

From November 2014 to September 2022, the team saw no action due to the

Pakistan Football Federation Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of association football in Pakistan. Founded in 1947, its headquarters are at the FIFA Football House in Lahore, Punjab near Punjab Stadium. The federation manages the men's and women's ...

(PFF) being suspended several times by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

for infighting and third-party interference. The suspensions were removed occasionally, but not in time for Pakistan to participate in the 2016 and 2019 editions of the SAFF Women's Championship, and in the 2016 and 2019 editions of the

South Asian Games The South Asian Games (SAG or SA Games), formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games (SAFG or SAF Games), is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic C ...

. As a result of no matches being played, the team lost its FIFA ranking.

Return (2022–present)

On 30 June 2022, FIFA lifted PFF's suspension after a period of 14 months. As a result, PFF was able to send in Pakistan women's team's entry for the 2022 SAFF Women's Championship. The entry was confirmed on 9 July 2022, which meant that the team would be playing its first international match since 2014. A 35-member training camp was held at Lahore in August 2022 under new head coach Adeel Rizki, after which a 23-member squad was announced on 24 August 2022. Hajra Khan,

Malika-e-Noor Malika-e-Noor (born 11 July 1994) is a Pakistani footballer who is the vice-captain of the Pakistan women's national football team. She captains and plays as a defender for Pakistan Army, and as a midfielder for the national team. As of 2023 ...

, Syeda Mahpara, Nisha Ashraf, Roshnan Ali, Sahar Zaman, and Zulfia Nazir were the only players who were part of the team that last played in 2014; the rest were given their first call-ups. Two overseas players,

Nadia Khan Nadia Khan (born 22 May 1971) is a Pakistani television actress, presenter and producer. She is best known for the ''Nadia Khan Show'', a morning TV programme, and for OutStyle, her YouTube channel. She is known for her role in the PTV series ...

and Maria Khan, were also included for the first time. The captaincy was handed over to Maria Khan from Hajra Khan, while Malika-e-Noor was named the vice-captain. Pakistan made its return to international football on 7 September 2022, with 58th-ranked India being its first opponent in the group stage of the 2022 SAFF Women's Championship at the

Dasharath Rangasala Dasharath Rangasala ( ne, दशरथ रंगशाला; ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu. It is named after Dasharath Chand, one of the four great martyrs of Nepal. The stadium is used mostly for football matches ...

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. Pakistan lost 3–0, which was followed by a 6–0 loss against Nepal in the next match which meant the team could not progress to the semifinals. In the final group stage fixture, Pakistan recorded its biggest win when it defeated Maldives 7–0, courtesy of four goals by

, who became the team's joint record goal scorer. It was also the first time a player had scored three goals or more in a match for Pakistan. In January 2023, the team visited

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

for a four-nation international friendly tournament. It won its first game 1–0 against

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

, the first time it faced a non-

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

opponent, lost the next fixture 2–1 against

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

, before drawing the final match 1–1 against hosts

. With four points in three matches, Pakistan finished as runners-up at the tournament, with captain Maria Khan being declared as the player of the tournament.

Results and fixtures

* The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. ;Legend

2022

2023

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Manager history

, ''after the match against ''.

Players

Current squad

The following 24 players were called up for the 2023 SAFF Women's Friendly Tournament.

Recent call-ups

* The following players have been called up to a Pakistan squad in recent years.

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

AFC Women's Asian Cup

:''*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.''

SAFF Women's Championship

South Asian Games

Head-to-head record

; Key The following table shows Pakistan's all-time official international record per opponent: Last updated: Pakistan vs

, 19 January 2023.

References

External links

Pakistan women's national football team
– official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistan Women's National Football Team Pakistan women's national football team Women's national sports teams of Pakistan Asian women's national association football teams