PM awards Rs2.5m to footballer Riaz

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif awarded Rs2.5 million to footballer Mohammad Riaz, urging him to focus on his game.

On Wednesday evening, Riaz called on the prime minister alongside Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) officials. During the meeting, he made a heartfelt appeal for the restoration of departmental football, emphasizing that despite the PM’s prior directives, no progress had been made. “Had the departments truly reinstated their teams, I would be playing right now,” Riaz stated boldly, challenging claims from PSB officials that departmental football had already been restored. “I still have good years of football left in me, but I, along with hundreds of other players, am still waiting for that call.”

Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has also stepped in, offering Riaz a coaching position—a silver lining in what has been a challenging journey for the footballer.