Lahore sports festival: Transgender people take to the field in September

LAHORE: Preparations are underway to organise a first-of-its-kind sports festival for transgender people in Lahore.

The event, in which transgender people from all parts of the province will take part, is to be held in the first week of September. The registration for teams will start in July.

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), aiming to promote education and make transgender people productive members of society, has decided to organise the event.



Exploring Future Foundation (EFF) founder Asif Shahzad told Express News that transgender people can participate in any discipline of games. “We should encourage them to participate in games as much as we do to men and women. It is an opportunity for them to show the world that they have other talents besides dancing.”

PHOTO: EXPRESS

The EFF Punjab transgender sports festival will organise competitions in different sports disciplines including, climbing, football, table tennis, basketball, handball, cricket, cycling and archery.

PHOTO: EXPRESS

According to the organisers, a large number of transgender people from all over the country will be invited as guests. The founder of the EFF said: “They have welcomed the initiative and I am confident that these games will give transgender people self-confidence.”



Last month, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government organised a sports festival exclusively for members of the community.

PHOTO: EXPRESS

They played cricket, took part in archery and participated in a tug-of-war competition at the Arbab Niaz stadium. The transgender people welcomed the initiative of the K-P government.