With the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship on the horizon, Nadia Khan, the top striker for the Pakistan Women's National Football Team, is confident that this year's squad can achieve a significantly better result than in previous tournaments.
“Yes, actually, I do expect a different result from last time,” she said, emphasising her belief in the team's potential. “With the players we have, and from the players we had last time, I expect us to perform obviously to our best abilities.”
In an exclusive interview with Geo News, 23-year-old UK based Nadia share her thoughts on making a comeback after an ACL injury that kept her off the field for a long, SAFF Championship and how the women football in Pakistan is growing.
Reflecting on her year away from the game, she stated, “I've been away from football for quite a while now, due to my ACL injury. So, it's been a good 12 months, actually playing even with club. But for the national team, it’s been since Nepal last time.”
“Alhamdulillah, I've come back stronger from the injury, recovered well, and I can’t wait to play in this tournament, I'm really excited and with the team that we have now, I'm really confident that we can push forward and make a good impact.” she said, expressing her excitement to don the national colors once again.
Khan credits her mentality and drive for her successful recovery, stating, “I think it’s mentality and my drive to continue and grow that has pushed me forward and determined me to not see this as a setback. It drove me on to say as if I can do it and I will do it.”
She views her time away from football not just as a challenge but as a growth opportunity. “I see it more as a positive thing. I feel like I've grown as a player on and off the field and it's taught me a lot of things: resilience, determination, and it makes you grow as a player.”
As the championship approaches, Khan is eager to return to international play, describing the feeling of representing Pakistan as something she cannot adequately express.
“I'm just so excited to play on the international field again. Playing for my country, playing for Pakistan — it’s a totally different feeling that I get, and I can’t express the feelings," she said.
Addressing the issue of limited international matches for the team, Khan acknowledged the need for more competitive play saying that they deserve to play more international games, especially like in different FIFA windows.
“We do deserve that because we train so hard. But playing on the international field, we do deserve that more. Inshallah, in the future, yeah, we will get more of a rhythm to that," Nadia said.
She has full confidence in her teammates as they gear up for challenging matches in the SAFF Championship. “Yeah, they're tough matches, but I've got full confidence in my group, in my squad. The whole squad, from the managers to the players on the field, I have full confidence that we will go forward and make a statement.”
Nadia also praised the improvements in local players since she first joined. “It's such a big difference how they form, how they control the ball on and off. It's just, I find it as totally different. And that's a credit to themselves for developing themselves and to the players in Pakistan as well.”
Talking about potential distractions caused by delays in No Objection Certificates (NOCs), she expressed that the team remains focused on their performance.
“No, not really. Because we're focused on our game and we leave that to the people behind the scenes to do their jobs and get things done on their side. So, our job is to focus on the game and how we're going to play,” she explained.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.
