World Cup inflates football passion across Pakistan
The spectacle seems more of a movement than a sports event for the youth – and even the older fans – in the...
For the time being, football seems to have replaced cricket as the street-favourite game in Pakistan. PHOTOS: ABID NAWAZ/ATHAR KHAN/MUHAMMAD JAVAID
KARACHI:
While Lyari remain the leaders when it comes to the Fifa World Cup fan-following, other regions of Pakistan are only some distance behind in their fervent passion for the tournament.
The spectacle seems more of a movement than a sports event for the youth – and even the older fans – in the country.
Two of such examples are Chaman and Quetta, where the fans are quick to assure that their dedication to football is no less than what is witnessed in Lyari.
“We have nothing but football,” former national captain Essa Khan told The Express Tribune from Chaman. “Everyone is glued to the big screen. In Chaman, we have three places where screenings are taking place and people gather around.
“In my own club we have a screen, and until the last match, we had approximately 1,500 to 2,000 people congregated at just one venue. It speaks volumes about how my city feels about the sport.”
Meanwhile, Essa said that Thursdays are the most crowded days, and fans pour out to watch the matches till the morning.
“It’s all overwhelming. In Chaman, we actually don’t have any other sport. It’s amazing how this crowd stays even if everyone can’t see the screen. They’ll hear the commentary, even if they don’t understand it. But they stick around all night till dawn, discussing the results after the match.”
Similarly, traders coming from the Afghan border also stay. Essa says every single World Cup match has been screened at his academy and spectators showed up every time.
Meanwhile in Quetta, former national player Jadeed Khan said that the football fans have brought their jerseys and are following matches religiously.
“There aren’t any big screenings in the city due to the law-and-order situation, but we all gather around to see our favourite teams play,” said Jadeed.
Islamabad catches up on sleep during the day
According to Islamabad Football Association officials Zaklir Naqvi, the World Cup fever has grown exponentially in the city.
“The best example that I can give is that we were having a seven-a-side tournament last week, and most of the players would show up sleepy in the day, because they were up watching the World Cup matches,” elaborated Naqvi.
“The World Cup is a part of life at the moment; most of the youngsters and even players are either playing or watching football, even the girls. There are screenings in Islamabad too.”
Laiba, an eight-year-old-girl in Islamabad, plays football every morning on the streets.
She said that even though she has no idea about the rules of the game, she knows that as a goalkeeper, it is her job to ensure that the ball needs to be stopped from passing the goal-line made by pieces of rock.
Peshawar lags behind
PAF football club coach Arshad Khan says that the craze has not picked up in Peshawar yet.
“The screenings aren’t taking place due to security concerns,” he said. “In Peshawar, everything closes according to the city government orders at 11pm.
“Only the Dean Plaza is showing matches, but still people don’t seem interested and go home in case of matches after midnight.”
He pointed out the Faisalabad remains the most enthusiastic football town in Punjab.
“Faisalabad celebrates the World Cup the same way as people in Lyari. They are even having regular local tournaments during day-time there,” said Arshad.
Students cheered at perfect timing
School-going children in Karachi are thrilled over the prospect that the World Cup is happening during their holiday season.
Ninth-grader Hassan Latif is cheering for Argentina and Lionel Messi and has no worries about staying up late for the matches.
“It’s the World Cup, who would want to miss this chance?” said Latif. “We have even started to play football instead of cricket in the evening at our local grounds.”
College student Usman Habib, who hopes that Luis Suarez of Uruguay does well in the World Cup, is confident that one day Pakistan will also take part in the glittering event.
“We are usually just focused on cricket and football hardly gets any importance,” said Habib. “If there was any scope for football in Pakistan, I would definitely make a career in that rather than joining any mainstream profession.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2014.
While Lyari remain the leaders when it comes to the Fifa World Cup fan-following, other regions of Pakistan are only some distance behind in their fervent passion for the tournament.
The spectacle seems more of a movement than a sports event for the youth – and even the older fans – in the country.
For the time being, football seems to have replaced cricket as the street-favourite game in Pakistan. PHOTOS: ABID NAWAZ/ATHAR KHAN/MUHAMMAD JAVAID
Two of such examples are Chaman and Quetta, where the fans are quick to assure that their dedication to football is no less than what is witnessed in Lyari.
“We have nothing but football,” former national captain Essa Khan told The Express Tribune from Chaman. “Everyone is glued to the big screen. In Chaman, we have three places where screenings are taking place and people gather around.
“In my own club we have a screen, and until the last match, we had approximately 1,500 to 2,000 people congregated at just one venue. It speaks volumes about how my city feels about the sport.”
Meanwhile, Essa said that Thursdays are the most crowded days, and fans pour out to watch the matches till the morning.
For the time being, football seems to have replaced cricket as the street-favourite game in Pakistan. PHOTOS: ABID NAWAZ/ATHAR KHAN/MUHAMMAD JAVAID
“It’s all overwhelming. In Chaman, we actually don’t have any other sport. It’s amazing how this crowd stays even if everyone can’t see the screen. They’ll hear the commentary, even if they don’t understand it. But they stick around all night till dawn, discussing the results after the match.”
Similarly, traders coming from the Afghan border also stay. Essa says every single World Cup match has been screened at his academy and spectators showed up every time.
Meanwhile in Quetta, former national player Jadeed Khan said that the football fans have brought their jerseys and are following matches religiously.
“There aren’t any big screenings in the city due to the law-and-order situation, but we all gather around to see our favourite teams play,” said Jadeed.
Islamabad catches up on sleep during the day
According to Islamabad Football Association officials Zaklir Naqvi, the World Cup fever has grown exponentially in the city.
“The best example that I can give is that we were having a seven-a-side tournament last week, and most of the players would show up sleepy in the day, because they were up watching the World Cup matches,” elaborated Naqvi.
For the time being, football seems to have replaced cricket as the street-favourite game in Pakistan. PHOTOS: ABID NAWAZ/ATHAR KHAN/MUHAMMAD JAVAID
“The World Cup is a part of life at the moment; most of the youngsters and even players are either playing or watching football, even the girls. There are screenings in Islamabad too.”
Laiba, an eight-year-old-girl in Islamabad, plays football every morning on the streets.
She said that even though she has no idea about the rules of the game, she knows that as a goalkeeper, it is her job to ensure that the ball needs to be stopped from passing the goal-line made by pieces of rock.
Peshawar lags behind
PAF football club coach Arshad Khan says that the craze has not picked up in Peshawar yet.
“The screenings aren’t taking place due to security concerns,” he said. “In Peshawar, everything closes according to the city government orders at 11pm.
“Only the Dean Plaza is showing matches, but still people don’t seem interested and go home in case of matches after midnight.”
He pointed out the Faisalabad remains the most enthusiastic football town in Punjab.
“Faisalabad celebrates the World Cup the same way as people in Lyari. They are even having regular local tournaments during day-time there,” said Arshad.
Students cheered at perfect timing
School-going children in Karachi are thrilled over the prospect that the World Cup is happening during their holiday season.
Ninth-grader Hassan Latif is cheering for Argentina and Lionel Messi and has no worries about staying up late for the matches.
“It’s the World Cup, who would want to miss this chance?” said Latif. “We have even started to play football instead of cricket in the evening at our local grounds.”
College student Usman Habib, who hopes that Luis Suarez of Uruguay does well in the World Cup, is confident that one day Pakistan will also take part in the glittering event.
“We are usually just focused on cricket and football hardly gets any importance,” said Habib. “If there was any scope for football in Pakistan, I would definitely make a career in that rather than joining any mainstream profession.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2014.