Karachi United launches fourth SC Youth League Football

KARACHI: The fourth edition of Standard Chartered Karachi United Youth League, organised by Karachi United, kicked off on Friday.

This year’s league will see five boys’ competitions in the following age categories: Under 10 years, Under 12 years, Under 14 years and Under 16 years, including a government school competition.

The format is that of a group system from which the top teams qualify directly for the quarter-finals. The Standard Chartered KU Youth League will also increase girls participation through a tournament this year to 120 girls.

This year’s competition will see more than 1000 boys and girls from across Karachi participate in matches. In order to increase the standard of the league, official referees and match commissioners have been appointed for every match.

A total of 199 matches will be played at six locations: Old Golimar, Shireen Jinnah, Malir, Baldia, Ibrahim Hyderi and Orangi Town.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Rehan Shaikh, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Pakistan, said, “Standard Chartered is proud to partner for the fourth year with Karachi United."

In the last three years more than 2600 children went through the SC KU league experience which was not only restricted to football, but also included coaching in life skills and team work.

“Standard Chartered has a long association with football and we are proud to be leading such a transformational initiative with Karachi United,” he said.

Imran Ali, CEO, Karachi United, said: “The league is . . . an extremely exciting platform for young players.

“We are very proud of our partnership with Standard Chartered as we have moved further and are now focusing on coaches’ development as witnessed by the investment in the LFC Train the Trainer workshop. We are confident this will improve standards of coaching and football across Karachi.”