Pakistan kids showcase talent at Football For Friendship event in Madrid

KARACHI: Pakistani kids showcased their talent at the International World Championship for Children Gazprom Football For Friendship in Madrid.

As many as 57 nations are participating in the event. Fahad Khan, head of the Pakistan delegation, presented Pakistan shirts to former footballers from around the world as a goodwill gesture.

“Including five kids, Pakistan delegation consists of eight delegates, featuring in the international social children programme Gazprom Football For Friendship which started on May 28,” Fahad told ‘The News’. “This is the third consecutive time Pakistan has been given the opportunity to participate in this global event,” he added.

The programme is supported by big media groups from around the globe, including Euronews, and RT. Paigham-e-Pakistan, a project of the government of Pakistan, is also a partner.

In the last two years, under the leadership of Fahad, Pakistan delegations have played a vital role in promoting the true image of Pakistan. Last year, Sarang Baloch hailing from Dera Ismail Khan represented Pakistan as the football ambassador. He also became the first Pakistani to raise Pakistan flag at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2018 opening ceremony in Moscow.

Farhad Mehboob from South Punjab accompanied him as a young journalist. “The kids representing Pakistan include Ibrahim Zaheer, Monas Ibrahim, Mujtaba Imran and Arham Kamran,” Fahad said. “They were selected by the Football For Friendship Global Committee. Under the ambit of Football For Friendship in collaboration with Paigham-e-Pakistan, various events were carried out, including matches for kids, workshops, meetings with government officials and showbiz people. Through these events, a message of peace, love and brotherhood was promoted among the kids from various religious and social backgrounds in Pakistan. Kids from the Sikh, Hindu, Christian and other communities were engaged. These kids played Football For Friendship Unity match on May 24. A workshop was conducted on May 25. Community leaders of various religious groups also attended the event,” he said.

Since arriving in Madrid, Pakistan delegation has managed to pull off a great performance, Fahad said. Kids performed well in their respective fields.

Pakistani kids mingled with children from other nationalities. During the festivities in the international children’s press centre, Pakistan delegation presented official Pakistan football team’s jerseys to the organisers and former footballers. The recipients included Gazprom Football For Friendship Director Valdimir Serov, Alexei Smertin, who is Director Russian Football Association, and others.

Fahad, who was invited to speak on FIFA Fairplay, addressed the delegates of the participating countries. In an hour-long speech, he emphasised the nine values of football for Friendship and FIFA Fair-play Code.

The speech was attended by high-profile coaches from around the world, majority of them pro licence coaches. Talking to the media after the International Football For Friendship Forum, Fahad said,” For me, Pakistan is a winner in this programme as we got a chance to showcase our talent at the global level and present our true image to the world as sports- and peace-loving nation.”