Balochistan And The Passion For Football

Balochistan and the passion for football

In a sandy ground, a young man ties his shoe laces as he looks ahead at the more than a dozen players on the field. It is hot but the result is too close to be given up on

Islamabad (Pakistan Point News - 16th Apr, 2019 ) In a sandy ground, a young man ties his shoe laces as he looks ahead at the more than a dozen players on the field. It is hot but the result is too close to be given up on. This is after all the Ufone Football Championship Cup, the one great chance to showcase your skill in front of hundreds of spectatorsand national television.

Just weeks earlier, Ufone had announced that the third edition of the Ufone Balochistan Football Cup was all set to beginin Noshki, a town southwest of Quetta. The tournament was built around promoting Balochistan’s most popular sport, football, and giving young, emerging footballers a platform to showcase their skills on a national level.This was the third edition of the tournament and featured in eight cities of the province, including Gwadar, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Noshki, Loralai, Pishin, Chaman, and Quetta.

Football is very popular among the youth of Balochistan and Ufone has been encouraging emerging players in the province to showcase their talent through this popular, exciting tournament.The sport builds strength and flexibility, increases athletic strength, and builds a sense of community. In a province struggling with high rates of unemployment- according to the UNDP, 7.9% of the workforce in the community is unemployed- as well as punishing levels of poverty, sporting tournaments provide a sense of meaning and purpose again.

This year, a total of 720 young footballers from 48 teams participated in the tournament’s qualifiers which kicked off from Gwadar and Panjgur simultaneously.Afghan FC Chaman faced Jallawan FCKhuzdarin Quetta, emerging the champion.Medals were distributed among all top four teams along with cash prizes. This was the first time in the tournament’s history that the finals were played under a stadium’s flood lights.PTV Sports and Suno FM 89.4 also broadcast the semifinals and final as media partners.

The inaugural edition of the championship was first launched in 2017 to develop the game in the province and provide the youth a platform where they coulddisplay their talent. The sport already enjoys immense popularity among the youth and is said to be played in almost every village in the province. Balochistan has also produced numerous football stars that play at the national level, such as Fazal Muhammad and Riaz Khan, who previously participated in the tournament. Fazal Muhammad is Pakistan’s star footballer and also Ufone’s Brand Ambassador. He participated with Riaz Khan as a mentor in the tournament.The initiative also showsUfone’s commitment to the people of Balochistan, reaffirmed with the company’s tagline: “It’s all about U.”