AN Asian football team from Burnley were denied their chance of sporting glory after being chosen to play in a national competition.

Paak AFC who formed in 1969 are thought to be one of the oldest Asian football squads in the country.

They were chosen to head north to Scotland for the competition after beating teams from Blackburn, Rochdale and Preston and being named North West champions.

Sadly for the lads from Burnley and Pendle, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Sporting Bengal meant an early bath and an exit from the prestigious competition. Despite winning their final group game 5-2, the team were sent crashing out. Goals from Nasir Iqbal, Qasim Ali, Majid Ahmed and Adnan Akbar against former finalists Punjab gave them hope, but it was not to be.

That result left them second in their table to eventual winners Sporting Bengal who beat Bradford 3-2 in the final at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow to be crowned UK Asian Champions.

Manager of Paak, Javed Iqbal said: "It was a great honour to represent the North West at the championships.

"We played some excellent teams such as Sporting Bengal, who play at a semi-professional level.

"It was our first time at these championships and I don't think we let ourselves down, we played some excellent football but unfortunately it wasn't our day.

"It would have been a dream come true to play at Ibrox. We hit the bar, hit the post, but it wasn't to be.

"When we went into the stadium to watch the final, all the lads were gutted. We knew it should have been us on the pitch."

Despite crashing out of the tournament the lads still got to rub shoulders with Glasgow footballing legend Richard Gough and former England hitman Mark Hately.

And they are looking to next year and a second campaign north of the border.

Javed, of Craven Street, Nelson, continued: "We are looking forward and will be more prepared for the championship next year.

"I would like to congratulate all the team for working so hard and doing so well."