Pakistan’s ‘fake’ football team reaches Japan, caught at airport

Published on: Sept 17, 2025 07:14 pm IST

Investigations led to the arrest of Waqas Ali, who had previously orchestrated similar scams, using forged documents to secure visas for trafficked individuals.

The Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday said that a ‘fake’ Pakistan Football Team was deported from Japan after its fraud was revealed.

The suspect revealed that forged letters and NoC of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were used for the purpose.(Unsplash/representational)

The 22-member team was originally a gang from a human trafficking ring. The FIA has launched an investigation into the matter and arrested the prime suspect Waqas Ali, reported news agency PTI.

“The 22-member fake football team, which managed to get a 15-day visa, reached Japan in June 2025. However, it was deported by the Japanese immigration authorities from the airport, and the matter was then reported to the FIA,” the report quoted FIA as saying.

Pakistan football has suffered badly from political parties fighting over control of the federation. FIFA in 2021 banned Pakistan from playing international matches for 15 months, also for political interference in the federation. The gang appeared to be using this as an advantage for sending members of its human trafficking ring to Japan.

Not just did the gang dress head to toe in football kits and falsely claim to have been registered with the Pakistan Football Federation, the country’s national governing body of association football, they also argued that they had scheduled matches with a Japanese club.

Not the first time

For the accused, this was not the first time he was pulling off a ‘fake football team’ from Pakistan.

During the investigation, the prime suspect, Waqas Ali revealed that his network also managed to send 17 people to Japan in 2024, showing them as members of the Pakistan Football Team who never returned.

The suspect revealed that forged letters and NoC of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were used for the purpose.

“Each person (player) paid PKR4.5 million for arranging their Japan visa,” the FIA said and added that raids are underway to arrest the other members of the network.

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