Muslim Hands, a charity organization, is holding a Schools Football Championship at Mohammad Rasheed Football Ground, Wazirabad. The four-day event started yesterday, 16th November 2023, and will conclude on 19th November 2023.
There are a total of 12 teams competing for the title, all hailing from different parts of Pakistan. The matches are being broadcast on different social media pages titled ‘Maidaan’.
Muslim Hands has been working at the grassroots level for many years. They stitched a team in July 2023 that went to Norway to compete in the Oslo Cup. The team remained unbeaten for seven successive matches, before losing the final to Sola FK on penalties. They even beat Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland’s ex-club Molde by a massive margin of 4-0. The team scored a tally of 29 goals, conceding only twice.
Muslim Hands also assisted the Street Child World Cup team when they finished as runners-up in the 2022 event in Doha, Qatar. Similar to Oslo Cup, the team remained unbeaten until losing the final to Egypt on penalties.
Such tournaments should be applauded, as grassroots football will enable more children to play the sport and think about it professionally. International tours will give local youngsters overseas experience, and get acclimatized to new playstyles, formations and skills.
