11-day extravaganza in FATA

It is rare for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) to host a national sporting event


Editorial April 03, 2017
FATA super league. PHOTO: EXPRESS

It is rare for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) to host a national sporting event. Rarer still is it for the tribal regions to stage the first-ever super league T20 cricket matches. On Monday, the Fata super league opened amid much fanfare in the Jamrud sports complex of Khyber Agency.

Organisers say the purpose of the event is to promote a positive and peaceful image of Fata whose people have been stigmatised by years of insurgency and militancy. The young people of the region have been left deeply scarred by the resulting violence and bloodshed. For so long large segments of the Fata population remained confined to their homes instead of participating in healthy sports activities. Their energies in all that time were misspent in inactivity. But one hopes their talents will now be tapped more than ever.

Already people in the tribal region have begun to show their sporting prowess. Some of them have earned wide recognition as well in recent years. Their cricketers, for instance, have done enormously well against the teams of other, more mainstream regions. If there is anything lacking, it is exposure. With opportunities brimming, they could at last turn their backs on the wave of militancy that they experienced and endured in the not too distant past. One hopes the Fata Super League will bring a semblance of normality and peace to the area. It is that kind of image that we should all try to portray to the rest of the world.

Several top cricketers such as Salman Butt, Umar Amin and Muhammad Rizwan have already become a part of the 24-team league. The focus of the 11-day league will be encouraging and harnessing local talent: each team will field nine players from Fata while the other two players will be chosen from outside the tribal region.

Another encouraging feature about the league is that the funds collected for the event as well as the prize money have been exclusively raised by one of the region’s parliamentarians. In the days to come, one hopes more sponsors outside Fata would join in the effort.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2017.

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