Pakistan women's national football team

History

Beginnings (2010–2011)

The Pakistan women's national football team made its international debut at the 11th South Asian Games in Dhaka. Midfielder Ishrat Fatima of Lahore's Sports Sciences Department (Punjab University) was the first captain of the team. The team played their first match on 31 January 2010 against India at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. It also faced off against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal in that tournament, winning against Sri Lanka via walkover while losing the other two fixtures. It came in 4th out of 5 teams.

In November 2010, Tariq Lutfi was appointed as the coach of the team. In December 2010, the team, under Lutfi and the new captain, Sana Mehmood (Young Rising Star's captain and central defender), participated in the inaugural SAFF Women's Championship held at Cox's Bazar Stadium. It stood second Group B, winning against the Maldives (2–1) and Afghanistan (3–0), while losing heavily to Nepal (0–12). Pakistan lost 8–0 against India in the semifinal and were thus eliminated. In this tournament, Mehwish Khan became the first ever goal-scorer for Pakistan (in the match against Maldives).

As a result of these official matches, Pakistan entered the FIFA Women's World Rankings for the first time on 18 March 2011, placing 121st in the World and 22nd in Asia.

Further participations (2011–2014)

In May 2011, four members of the team (Abiha Haidar, Roshnan Ali, Sara Mumtaz and coach Ishrat Fatima) went to the United States for a two-week FIFA Women's World Cup Developing Program. They attended seminars, programs, meetings, and practice sessions in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., and visited various local colleges and universities. The group was also hosted for a special dinner at the White House by the US Government for boosting bilateral relations through sports promotion and development.

In September 2012, the team participated in the 2nd SAFF Women's Championship held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Pakistan lost against Nepal (0–8) and Afghanistan (0–4) before earning a consolation win against the Maldives (3–0).

Pakistan played its first international friendly series against Bahrain in October 2014. Three matches were played at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa, with the home side winning all of them. These matches were organized to help prepare the team for the upcoming 3rd edition of the SAFF Women's Championship.

Pakistan hosted the 2014 SAFF Women's Championship in November 2014, with all matches being held at Jinnah Sports Stadium in Islamabad. The hosts lost against Sri Lanka (1–2) and Nepal (0–2), but won against Bhutan (4–1), scoring four goals in a match for the first time.

Hiatus (2014–2022)

Main article: Pakistan Football Federation#Crisis

From November 2014 to September 2022, the team saw no action due to the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) being suspended several times by FIFA for infighting and third-party interference. The suspensions were removed occasionally, but not in time for Pakistan to participate in the 2016 and 2019 editions of the SAFF Women's Championship, and in the 2016 and 2019 editions of the South Asian Games. As a result of no matches being played, the team lost its FIFA ranking.

Return (2022–present)

On 30 June 2022, FIFA lifted PFF's suspension after a period of 14 months. As a result, PFF was able to send in Pakistan women's team's entry for the 2022 SAFF Women's Championship. The entry was confirmed on 9 July 2022, which meant that the team would be playing its first international match since 2014. A 35-member training camp was held at Lahore in August 2022 under new head coach Adeel Rizki, after which a 23-member squad was announced on 24 August 2022. Hajra Khan, Malika-e-Noor, Syeda Mahpara, Nisha Ashraf, Roshnan Ali, Sahar Zaman, and Zulfia Nazir were the only players who were part of the team that last played in 2014; the rest were given their first call-ups. Two overseas players, Nadia Khan and Maria Khan, were also included for the first time. The captaincy was handed over to Maria Khan from Hajra Khan, while Malika-e-Noor was named the vice-captain.

Pakistan made its return to international football on 7 September 2022, with 58th-ranked India being its first opponent in the group stage of the 2022 SAFF Women's Championship at the Dasharath Rangasala in Kathmandu. Pakistan lost 3–0, which was followed by a 6–0 loss against Nepal in the next match which meant the team could not progress to the semifinals. In the final group stage fixture, Pakistan recorded its biggest win when it defeated Maldives 7–0, courtesy of four goals by Nadia Khan, who became the team's joint record goal scorer. It was also the first time a player had scored three goals or more in a match for Pakistan.

In January 2023, the team visited Saudi Arabia for a four-nation international friendly tournament. It won its first game 1–0 against Comoros, the first time it faced a non-Asian opponent, lost the next fixture 2–1 against Mauritius, before drawing the final match 1–1 against hosts Saudi Arabia. With four points in three matches, Pakistan finished as runners-up at the tournament, with captain Maria Khan being declared as the player of the tournament.

In April 2023, Pakistan played its first competitive fixtures when it made its first appearance in the first round of the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The team lost 4–0 against Philippines and 2–0 against Hong Kong, but won 1–0 against hosts Tajikistan.

The team was to visit Singapore in July for two friendly fixtures against the host team. However, their departure was delayed due to visa issues which meant only one match could be played. Singapore won that match 1–0.

In August, it was confirmed that Pakistan will participate in a six-team tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia in September. In that tournament, Pakistan drew 0–0 against Malaysia and lost 1–0 against Saudi Arabia in their first two matches. In their final group match, they won 4–2 on penalties against Laos after the match ended 1–1. This was the first penalty shootout win for Pakistan.

In 2024, the team competed in the SAFF Women's Championship held in Nepal. It lost 5–2 against India, and drew 1–1 against eventual champions Bangladesh. Pakistan also played against Saudi Arabia in a 1–1 draw in friendly match in December of that year.

In 2025, Pakistan competed in its first AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification campaign. As part of Group D, Pakistan played all three of its matches in Indonesia. After an 8–0 loss against Chinese Taipei in their first match, Pakistan won its next two matches 2–0 and 2–1 against Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan respectively.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Pakistan women's national football team results

• The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

;Legend

2024

2025

Chen Jin-Wen
Su-Yu-Hsuan
Hsu Yi-Yun
Liu Yu-Chiao
He Jia-Shiuan

• N. Khan
• Hirani
• Alina Gaparova
• Mahmood

2026

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Current squad

The following 22 players were called up for the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers in June 2025.

Caps and goals updated 5 July 2025 following the match against Kyrgyzstan.

Recent call-ups

• The following players have been called up to Pakistan within the last 12 months.

Player records

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

Olympic Games

:*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

AFC Women's Asian Cup

:*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

SAFF Women's Championship

:*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

South Asian Games

:*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Head-to-head record

; Key

The following table shows Pakistan's all-time official international record per opponent:

Last updated: Pakistan vs Kyrgyzstan, 5 July 2025.

References

References

1. (16 September 2023). "PFF names women's squad for Saudi Arabia tour, retains Rizki as coach despite criticism".
2. (2010-01-12). "11th South Asian Games: India to meet Pakistan in women football".
3. (2010-02-06). "Pakistan female footballers record maiden win".
4. (2010-11-04). "Lutfi appointed as coach for Pakistan women football team".
5. Raheel, Natasha. (2014-10-22). "First international tour: Pakistan women open campaign in Bahrain on Thursday".
6. Abbasi, Kashif. (2014-11-12). "Pakistan suffer defeat as SAFF women's event commences".
7. Ali, Mohsin. (2014-11-17). "Pakistan thrash Bhutan 4–1 in SAFF Women's Soccer".
8. Raheel, Natasha. (11 October 2017). "FIFA suspends Pakistan Football Federation".
9. (8 April 2021). "FIFA suspends Pakistan football after 'hostile takeover'". [[Al Jazeera English.
10. (30 June 2022). "FIFA lifts suspension of Pakistan Football Federation". [[FIFA]].
11. Wasim, Umaid. (2022-07-10). "Pakistan's entry confirmed for SAFF Women's Championship".
12. (2022-08-20). "Rizki announced as Pakistan head coach ahead of SAFF Women's Championship".
13. Lakhani, Faizan. (24 August 2022). "Pakistan finalises 23-member squad for SAFF Women Cup".
14. Lakhani, Faizan. (30 August 2022). "Pakistan's football team captain eyes victory ahead of SAFF Women Championship".
15. (28 August 2022). "Pak women football team to depart today".
16. (8 September 2022). "Pakistan go down against India in SAFF Women's Championship".
17. (2022-09-11). "Bangladesh hit Pakistan for six at SAFF Women's Championship".
18. (2022-09-14). "Nadia hits four as Pakistan crush Maldives 7-0".
19. (2022-09-13). "Pakistan women's football team beats Maldives 7-0 and registers their biggest win".
20. (2022-09-13). "Nadia Khan stars as Pakistan thump Maldives in SAFF Women's Championship".
21. (2022-12-04). "Pakistan to feature in four-nation event".
22. (2023-01-13). "Pakistan women beat Comoros 1-0 in Four-Nation Cup".
23. Trehan, Dev. (2023-01-11). "London Seaward attacker Zahmena Malik dazzles on international debut for Pakistan Women in win over Comoros".
24. (2023-01-16). "Pakistan lose to Mauritius".
25. "Pakistan's Maria Khan scores stunner but Saudi Arabia win four-nation cup".
26. (2023-01-20). "Pakistan's women continue international return". [[FIFA]].
27. (2023-04-06). "Philippines overwhelm Pakistan in 4-0 triumph".
28. (2023-04-09). "Pair of own goals see Pakistan fall to Hong Kong".
29. (2023-04-12). "Zahmena helps Pakistan grab consolation win".
30. Lakhani, Faizan. (14 July 2023). "PFF announces women's team squad for match against Singapore".
31. (2023-07-19). "Women's football team go down to Singapore".
32. (2023-08-22). "Pakistan women's team to compete in six-nation football event in KSA".
33. Khurram, Shahjahan. (2023-09-25). "Saudi Arabia snatch last-gasp win over Pakistan in women's football tournament".
34. "Pakistan women's football team beat Laos in six-nation tournament".
35. Yashal, M.. (2024-10-17). "Pakistan women's falls 5-2 to India in SAFF Women's Championship 2024 opener".
36. (2024-10-21). "Pakistan draw against Bangladesh in SAFF Women's Championship".
37. Khurram, Shahjahan. (2024-12-07). "Pakistan, Saudi Arabia women's international friendly match ends in 1-1 draw in Doha".
38. "Chinese Taipei crush Pakistan in AFC Womens Asian Cup qualifier opener".
39. (2025-07-02). "Pakistan defeat Indonesia 2-0 in AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifier clash".
40. (2025-07-05). "Pakistan extend AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifying chances with 2-1 win over Kyrgyzstan".
41. (17 September 2023). "Pak women team off to Saudi Arabia".