• PFF has nominated Jinnah Stadium for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier.
• The AFC and FIFA have received the venue’s specifications.
• The AFC had set a deadline of August 18th for the PFF to finalize the venue.

The Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad has been designated as the location of the Pakistan Football Federation’s (PFF) home match against Cambodia in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier.

After playing them on the road on October 12, Pakistan will host Cambodia on October 17 in a home game.

An official of the PFF Normalization Committee (NC) revealed to Geo News that the AFC and FIFA have received the venue’s specifications and that they are now awaiting their final clearance.

“Yes, today we have emailed them the official venue nomination form mentioning Islamabad’s Jinnah Stadium to play Pakistan’s home game against Cambodia in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier,” said PFF NC member Shahid Khokhar.

There is a strong likelihood that the international governing body will arrange for a technical team to evaluate the venue before granting final approval.

The Jinnah Stadium’s most recent major event was the SAFF Women’s Championship in 2014.

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has confirmed that they have received an expression of interest from the Punjab Sports Board to make Punjab Stadium available for the match.

Nevertheless, a source within the PFF has indicated that the Punjab Stadium will be considered a backup choice after an inspection visit to assess its facilities.

Initially, the PFF had reached out to the Pakistan Sports Board, Punjab Sports Board, and Saudi Arabian Football Authorities to identify potential venues for Pakistan’s home game against Cambodia in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had set a deadline of August 18th for the PFF to finalize the venue.

If the AFC approves Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad as the host venue, it will mark Pakistan’s first international event at home since 2015, when Pakistan had a friendly match against Afghanistan in Lahore.

This fixture will also serve as Pakistan’s inaugural FIFA qualifier match at their own home ground since 2011. The 2015 game against Yemen was relocated to Bahrain due to a bomb blast in Lahore, and the 2019 match against Cambodia was moved to Qatar due to political turmoil within the PFF.

Pakistan’s most recent FIFA World Cup qualifier at home dates back to 2011 when they played against Bangladesh.

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