Naveed, Mehmood return from successful Nepalese stint

Alam Zeb Safi [The News]

KARACHI: Pakistan footballers Naveed Akram and Mehmood Ali have
 returned home after a successful stint with a Nepali club Saraswoti Youth
 Club (SYC) during the Nepal Martyr’s Memorial A Division League 2011
 which concluded in Kathmandu recently.

Defender Naveed and midfielder Mehmood were hired by the SYC, which
 had their first appearance in the Nepal’s top league and successfully averted
 relegation, and finished 13th out of 18 outfits which fought each other o
n single league system.

Both players, who are currently playing for WAPDA during the Pakistan
 Premier Football League, represented the debutants SYC for two months
 (May 17-July 17) in the three-month-long league which was played at two 
venues in the Nepal capital.

Mehmood Ali was part of the Pakistan team during all the international
 assignments which the country undertook under Austrian coach George 
Kottan from February 2009 to February 2010 while Naved Akram was the 
member of the national team which won gold medals in the 2004 Islamabad
 and 2006 Colombo South Asian Games. Both the players earned
 Rs200,000 each during their two-month association with the Nepali club.

“It was a good experience for me,” Naved Akram told ‘The News’ here in an
 interview.

“Our club was appearing in the top league for the first time and has been
 able to avert relegation. We put in our best and the club is very happy with
 us,” Naveed said.

The club is more likely to hire the services of few more Pakistani players for
 the next season.

“I have been told that next time I will have to bring in three or four more players
,” the 27-year old Multan born Naveed said.

“There were around 55 to 60 foreign players, most of them African, playing
 in the Nepal’s A Division league. There were players of Uganda, Tanzania
 and other African states and their presence had instilled a life in the 
league which we don’t see here in Pakistan,” Naveed said.

He said that Nepal Football Association (NFA) have earned great money 
through gate-fee because of the enthusiastic crowd watching the league encounters.

Meanwhile, Quetta-born Mehmood Ali was also satisfied with his stint for the
 club and was hopeful that he would serve the club next season as well.ire the
 services f five foreign players for the league as per rules.