SWINDON Town has announced a new partnership with Karachi Football Club in Pakistan.

Town say the ‘historic tie-up’ will benefit both parties as well as “the people of Pakistan and the diverse community in Swindon.”

In a lengthy statement on Swindon’s website from Zavier Austin, he said the deal would be “one of many” as the English club “looks to identify exciting talent across Asia”.

Town’s statement also said Karachi would host a game in Swindon’s honour on Saturday, February 5 in which Austin would attend as the guest of honour.

Austin said: “I also want to place on record my significant thanks to Muhammad Iqbal Memon, the Commissioner of Karachi, for putting on this game in our honour.

“It is an absolute privilege to be able to attend these festivities and I look forward to building a long and fruitful partnership with the Commissioner and Karachi over the coming years.”

Austin went on to address one of the key reasons for Town’s partnership with Karachi – identifying future talent.

He said: “Football is massively loved in Pakistan, as of course it is in England, and our plan has long been to take football to several under-privileged countries across Asia.

“My thinking behind this is simple; if I would have said to anyone ten years ago that one of the greatest players in world football right now would have hailed from Egypt, I would have been laughed at.

“However, Mo Salah is indeed one of the best players on the planet and our plan is to try and identify the hottest young talent across the world.

“I am incredibly excited about this partnership with Karachi FC because of the considerable efforts that have gone into putting this event on.

“This partnership will also be the first of many as Swindon Town look to identify exciting talent across Asia, and I will be exploring several countries in the foreseeable future in order to build and form relationships and friendships with a number of clubs.

“I want to place on record my significant thanks to Mr. Nayyar Hasnain, who I met several years ago and have been in constant discussions with ever since.

Nayyar plays a prominent role in football in Pakistan and was a member of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee between 2014-18, while he's a present member of the AFC Appeals Committee. Nayyar has been a huge help to me on this journey.”