Women soccer cup kicks off in Lyari

Bilawal calls youth vanguard of war against extremism

KARACHI:

All Sindh women soccer champion ship titled Pink Football Tournament kicked off under Sindh government's patronage on Friday.

Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inaugurated women's football tournament on Friday. Bilawal met the players and athletes also took selfies with him. Women's football clubs from all over Sindh are participating in this tournament held in Lyari.

"Youth of the country are being pushed towards extremism. However, they should shun extremist ideologies and play their role in the development and progress of the country," the PPP chairman said addressing the inauguration ceremony of synthetic ground and Pink Football Tournament at Lyari International Football Stadium.

Bilawal Bhutto expressed his joy at establishment world-class football ground in Lyari. Women from all over the province will participate in the football tournament, which he called proud moment for him.

He said that that the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had said that a country cannot develop unless at least 50 per cent of its women are involved in its development.

The PPP chairman reminded that his mother Benazir Bhutto became the Prime Minister of the country twice as a woman. He said there are people in the country who have discriminatory attitude towards women. The women present here are a better answer for people with such thinking.

Bilawal said that the women of Sindh are talented, "today women are playing football in Lyari, and tomorrow they will represent Pakistan at the international level." He thanked the Sindh government for organising the women's football tournament.

He said that the residents of Lyari have always been at the forefront of the democratic struggle and work of the PPP. He said that President Zardari has done a lot for this city and the region. However, there are still problems that need to be solved.

Chairman Bilawal directed Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab to work for the development of Lyari. He directed Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to arrange floodlights in the football ground so that the youth can play in the ground easily even at night.

He said Sindh Pink Football Championship held under the Sindh Sports and Youth Department is a commendable work.

It is heartening to see in 16 women football teams, 320 players from different districts of Sindh are participating in this tournament.

Teams from various cities including Larkana, Nawabshah, Benazirabad, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur of Sindh are participating in this championship. Nine clubs from Karachi are also participating in the championship.

Bilawal also presented a cheque of Rs10 million to international boxer Shaheen Afridi.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sports Minister Sardar Muhammad Bakhsh Khan Mehar and others also addressed the event. Provincial Ministers Sharjeel Inam Memon, Saeed Ghani, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Muhammad Ali Malkani, Member National Assembly from Lyari Shah Jahan Baloch, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab, Chairman Lyari Town Nasir Karim Ismail and others were also present on the occasion.