Feature: History, culture and ambition down the drain
For the residents of Manghopir, there are two sacred places — shrine of the crocodile saint and their football ground.
For the residents of Manghopir, an impoverished part of rural Karachi, there are two sacred places — the shrine of the crocodile saint and their football ground.
An unpaved road winds through the various neighbourhoods of Manghopir to the last settled locality in the area where the four-acre football ground is located. It’s the only sports facility for the 150,000 people living in the area, with the last match at the venue having taken place in August last year.
Any further football action now looks unlikely due to the activities of what the locals call land mafia, which has been involved in selling plots and constructing houses in the vicinity of the venue. The ground is now filled with boulders and garbage and despite the efforts of residents and social activists, there seems to be no way of preventing the damage it is sustaining.
“All our efforts to stop the construction have failed,” said Abdul Ghani, a social activist. “Neither the police nor the government officials responsible for checking amenity plots have come to our help.”
According to Ghani, the encroachers are backed by a political party and they sought permission from the revenue department to build houses on the perimeter of the 72-year-old venue. Gradually, they expanded and started releasing water onto the ground just to disrupt matches.
As a consequence, football activities have come to a standstill and for the locals, this is annoying and alarming.
‘Football is a religion here’
Life in the 32 villages of Manghopir has always revolved around football and the ground.
Sajid Baloch, a former captain of the local Mehar Football Club, believes that the main reason for the sport’s popularity in the area is its inexpensive nature.
“You only need a ball, a ground and goal-posts and you’re ready to play,” he said. “Every man here has a story to narrate about football. It was 1993 and I was playing in an important match. I got the ball, dodged all the midfielders and raced ahead before scoring for my team. That was the best day of my life.
“Football is a religion here. When boys are told that smoking will kill their stamina for the game, they take it seriously and stop smoking.”
The 34-year-old Abdul Samad has grown up spending his evenings at the ground. He is now left lamenting the demise of the revered venue.
“All the boys work in the nearby factories,” he said. “In the evenings they used to come back and practise till sunset. But everything has changed now. With the ground gone, we don’t have anything else to do.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2012.
An unpaved road winds through the various neighbourhoods of Manghopir to the last settled locality in the area where the four-acre football ground is located. It’s the only sports facility for the 150,000 people living in the area, with the last match at the venue having taken place in August last year.
Any further football action now looks unlikely due to the activities of what the locals call land mafia, which has been involved in selling plots and constructing houses in the vicinity of the venue. The ground is now filled with boulders and garbage and despite the efforts of residents and social activists, there seems to be no way of preventing the damage it is sustaining.
“All our efforts to stop the construction have failed,” said Abdul Ghani, a social activist. “Neither the police nor the government officials responsible for checking amenity plots have come to our help.”
According to Ghani, the encroachers are backed by a political party and they sought permission from the revenue department to build houses on the perimeter of the 72-year-old venue. Gradually, they expanded and started releasing water onto the ground just to disrupt matches.
As a consequence, football activities have come to a standstill and for the locals, this is annoying and alarming.
‘Football is a religion here’
Life in the 32 villages of Manghopir has always revolved around football and the ground.
Sajid Baloch, a former captain of the local Mehar Football Club, believes that the main reason for the sport’s popularity in the area is its inexpensive nature.
“You only need a ball, a ground and goal-posts and you’re ready to play,” he said. “Every man here has a story to narrate about football. It was 1993 and I was playing in an important match. I got the ball, dodged all the midfielders and raced ahead before scoring for my team. That was the best day of my life.
“Football is a religion here. When boys are told that smoking will kill their stamina for the game, they take it seriously and stop smoking.”
The 34-year-old Abdul Samad has grown up spending his evenings at the ground. He is now left lamenting the demise of the revered venue.
“All the boys work in the nearby factories,” he said. “In the evenings they used to come back and practise till sunset. But everything has changed now. With the ground gone, we don’t have anything else to do.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2012.