STFC to host two local coaches in England

KARACHI: Two local football coaches will make a trip of a lifetime next year when they will visit England for training at a professional football club.

Basit Ali and Zubair, two football coaches from Lyari, have been selected by Swindon Town Football Club as part of their ongoing training programme in Karachi.

Zavier Austin, Vice Chairman of Swindon Town FC, told ‘The News’ that the two coaches would visit STFC facilities early in February to “see our set-up”.

STFC is running a long-term training camp at the KMC Stadium in Lyari in Collaboration with Karachi Football Club. The idea behind the training programme, which was initiated early this year, is to find the “next Mo Salah”.

“I had a very good, short trip to see all the boys,” said Austin, who was in Karachi for a couple of days early this month. During his trip he visited the training camp set up in Lyari by STFC along with Karachi Football Club.

Austin will be returning to Karachi late next month along with STFC coach Alex Pike, who will supervise an intense five-day camp with the 20 young trainees.

“It is going to be an important phase of the training programme,” said Austin. “On our return to England two coaches, Basit and Zubair, who have been selected on the basis of their performance would accompany us to Swindon Town. There they would see out set-up and I’m sure the visit would help them as coaches.”

According to Austin, Pike would then return to Karachi in April to train the boys.

“By then we would have 18 short-listed players in the training camp. We are hoping that by July next year we will be able to take one to two boys back to England and offer them a two-year scholarship at STFC.

This will depend on them being good enough,” he said.