Host sport: Afghan Cricket League from Dec 5

Official says sports will help engage youth in positive activities

PESHAWAR: Commissionerate Afghan Refugees in collaboration with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government will arrange Afghan Cricket League in Peshawar from Dec 5 to 10 in Arbab Niaz Stadium.

“The Afghan Cricket League will help engage refugee youth in healthy activities,” said Afghan Refugees Commissioner Abbass Khan during a press conference on Monday.

UNHCR has initiated sports activities across the 43 camps registered with it in the province. These events include cricket, football, badminton and rang of other sports activities, “but due to affection to cricket we are arranging cricket in the first phase,” Abbass Khan said.

Positive engagements are in the best interest of the host country, he said. “According to available data 70 per cent of Afghan refugees are youth and sports will help them channelize their energies for positive aims,” Abbass added.

He said that 10 teams from refugee camps across the province will be competing in the Afghan Cricket League. The contestants include teams from Swabi, Mardan, Kohat, Peshawar, Hangu, Charsadda and Nowshera and others.

According Abbas there are 390,000 Afghan refugees registerd with UNHCR in the province. The commission is sponsoring some 105 schools in the refugee camps where over 35,000 Afghans are studying.

“We want to negate the negative impression about the Afghan refugees and through sports we would build image of Afghan brother,” he said.

Sports bring love, peace and engagements among youth and this is the aim of the league to achieve positivity through sports he added.

We will provide kits to four teams of the tournament and in final match provincial Senior Minister for Youth Affairs, Culture and Tourism Atif Khan would be the chief guest along with the UNHCR official and other official of the KP government.

This opportunity would be a special occasion to the Afghan youth to showcase their abilities in the field of sports and booked themselves for cricket leagues across the world.

“Afghan people have learned the art of cricket in the brotherly host country and now beating world’s ranks in the field, so cash the opportunity and be able to shin in the stadium and positive activities” Abass said.

This would be preceded by activities for female refugees which would be speeches contest, painting and others. 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2018.