Pakistan Railways Sports Board Vice President Muhammad Irfan Gohar has made it clear to an AFC delegation that the Railway Stadium is fully equipped to host any international event. The AFC delegation is currently inspecting the venue and facilities and security measures to see if the stadium is capable of hosting games in the third AFC President's Cup next month.

The delegation - made up of Shin Mangil, venue manager of the 8-club show, and Imtiaz Rehman - met Irfan Gohar on Friday at the board's secretariat in the Railway Stadium.

Irfan said his board had been in the forefront of sporting activities in Pakistan. "We tackled well such football assignments in the past. The Railway Stadium is one of the ancient football venues in Pakistan hosting the first-ever SAFF Championship in 1993 after the fifth Quaid-i-Azam International Tournament in 1987. Teams like Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Kazakhstan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Russia showed their style in this arena, situated in the football congested area of Lahore."

Copyright Business Recorder, 2007