Pakistan’s national team was scheduled to face the host India on Wednesday in the opening game of the 2015 South Asian Football Federation Championship, but it won’t play after Pakistan’s soccer federation withdrew from the tournament in November.

It was the latest soccer-related turmoil for Pakistan, whose biggest rival seems to be itself at the moment and where most action takes place not on the field, but in the courts.

The national team has not played since March, and the withdrawal from the eight-team SAFF tournament means the inaction will continue well into 2016. Ranked No.184 in the world by FIFA, Pakistan has never won the competition, but the decision not to participate at all was met with fierce criticism at home.

“It’s a great loss for football and the players,” acknowledged Sardar Naveed Haider Khan, the vice president of the Pakistan Football Federation. “I feel sorry for them. It hurts as these games are opportunities to be seen by scouts by clubs.”