KARACHI: To avoid relocating Pakistan’s FIFA World Cup qualifier home match against Saudi Arabia to a neutral venue, the Pakistan Football Federation’s Normalisation Committee (PFF-NC) is considering an earlier kick-off time than the initially scheduled 8:30 pm.
The PFF-NC had announced the 8:30 pm kick-off after the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) installed new lights at Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad. However, an independent inspection revealed inconsistent lighting levels (LUX) across the field, with particularly low levels around both goal posts.
Although the PSB has promised to install four additional light towers around the goal posts, the PFF is also exploring alternative options. One proposed solution is to start the match at 5 pm.
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A source within the PFF-NC indicated that this idea has been discussed, and there is a strong likelihood that the game will begin at 5 pm if the lighting issues remain unresolved. This earlier start would allow the match to conclude by 7 pm, ahead of the sunset at 7:21 pm on June 6th.
Previous home games against Jordan and Tajikistan kicked off at 2 pm, but the intense heat on June 6 makes a 2 pm start unfeasible.
