Pakistan’s football glory

It is our responsibility to ensure that these children don’t return to streets and keep scoring goals for Pakistan.

In cricket mad Pakistan, football has found little corporate or government support. The national team has failed to inspire and has struggled to make an impact even at the regional level. But perhaps, for the first time in our history, we see a silver lining and the astonishing fact is that the hope emanates not from our regional or national team but from our extraordinary street children! Pakistan claimed the bronze medal in the Street Child Football World Cup that concluded in Brazil on April 6. The talented youngsters tamed India 13-0 in their opening match before edging out the US 3-2 on their way to the podium.

The Street Child World Cup is a global movement for street children, initiated four years ago in Durban with the aim of providing protection and opportunities that all children are entitled to. The programme unites street children from across five continents to play football, in an effort to highlight the treatment of street children around the world. These youngsters from Pakistan who had no future and perhaps, no hope of a better life outside the circle of poverty their families are stuck in, were transformed into champions after going through rehabilitation programmes; reports emanating from the South America football powerhouse suggest that many of these players have caught the eye of recruits from around the world who had gathered to scout talent in this unique event.

In the aftermath of their success, the role of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) becomes crucial; hopefully these players would be included in domestic teams across the country. Leading departmental teams must secure their future by providing jobs in order for the talented players to harness their football skills further and PFF needs to keep a close eye on their development. Some of these players might represent Pakistan at the international level soon, however, such a scenario is, of course, only possible if this unearthed talent is groomed and nurtured properly. It is, indeed, also our collective responsibility to ensure that these children don’t return to the streets — they must keep scoring goals for Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2014.

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