Captain Turab Ali clinch title after emphatic win

Team overcame Ustaad Gulsher 3-0 at the People’s Stadium

KARACHI: The youngsters in Lyari pursue only one passion, sports, and their spirit at the K-Electric (K-E) Lyari Youth Football Tournament evidences how the people in the locality would prefer sports over politics any day.

In the midst of a major Pakistan People’s Party’s political rally, Lyari’s people turned up to see the final of the K-E Youth U16 Football Tournament final between Team Captain Turab Ali and Team Ustaad Gulsher at the People’s Stadium on Sunday.

Captain Turab Ali dominated the tournament and the final, defeating Ustaad Gulsher 3-0 after striker Shakeel Ahmed scored twice, while Shazaib piled further misery on the opposition in the dying minutes of the second half to seal the win.

Interestingly, the tournament named the teams after the greats that Lyari has produced over the years and the crowd was highly receptive of this honorary gesture.

“It’s an amazing feeling to win the title,” Captain Turab Ali’s skipper Zubair Anwar told The Express Tribune. “I come from a place where we live, breath and speak football, and nothing else. It’s been great experience because K-Electric decided to put some money in this U16 tournament. At least there is someone to invest in us.”

K-E awarded the cash prize of Rs100,000 to the winning side, while Ustad Gulsher pursed Rs75,000, whereas Team Taj Muhammad took away Rs50,000 for finishing third.

According to Zubair’s injured team-mate Muhammad Junaid, whose brother Saquib Ahmed also took the prize for best player of the tournament, feels that more sponsors should come forward and show faith in the ability of the youth of Lyari.

“I’ve been an international player for the Pakistan U13 side, and now we want to play for Pakistan as professional footballers but there aren’t many opportunities for us,” said Junaid. “We play for our local clubs throughout the year, but that’s not enough. The national side never calls us for the camp, so a tournament like this is a blessing.”

The K-Electric Lyari Youth Football Tournament included 288 players from 16 clubs and was held at the People’s Stadium in Lyari, Karachi.

 

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