LAHORE: Pakistan is to host a series of international soccer competitions,with three regional tournaments set to be played in the country over thenext three years.

They will be the first events since the restoration of the PakistanFootball Federation’s (PFF) membership of world soccer body FIFA in March2018. “Pakistan will host the South Asia Football Federations (SAFF)Championship 2020 and the SAFF under-15 boys’ championship in 2019, whilethe under-19 women’s soccer championship will also be played on our soil in2021,” said PFF Director of League Development and Media Shahid Khokhar.

The decision to award the hosting duties to Pakistan was made at a SAFFgathering in Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 11, presided over by KaziSalahuddin, president of the Bangladesh Football Federation and of SAFF.Representatives of the football federations of Bhutan, India, Maldives,Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka attended. Pakistan previouslyhosted the SAFF Championshipin 1993, when it was won by India.