Underdog stories often bring football to life, they make the game beautiful and proliferate the fact that every team has a chance to achieve glory despite the constraints of facilities and financial backing.
Hazara Quetta Women’s Football team reached the semi-finals of the National Women’s Championship against all odds. Their women’s football academy which was formed four years ago is now finally yielding the results.
How did Rajab Ali Hazara form the academy?
The football academy was set up by current Pakistan national team player Rajab Ali Hazara in 2014 while the women’s wing of the Hazara club based in Quetta started in 2020.
Regarding women’s football in Balochistan, head coach Rajab Ali Hazara said, “We started this football academy for the women’s team in 2020 and I started the academy in 2014 for boys in Quetta. In Balochistan, there are four women’s teams, three of which hail from Quetta City.”
He emphasized that there are no proper facilities or adequate grounds where the young kids can train and admitted that the grounds in Islamabad were much better than the ones in Balochistan.
Rajab Ali Hazara pointed out that the facilities of football clubs in Balochistan are nowhere near what clubs have in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.
How the core team players helped the team reach the Semis:
Farishta (Forward)
Farishta scored 5 goals against JAFA FC and was also in prolific form during the first round in the Balochistan leg, she is currently leading the goal-scoring charts for Hazara Quetta Women’s Football Club. Her ability to attack the box like a sole striker is immaculate and she certainly has an eye for goal. It was because of her contributions that the Hazara side scored 30 goals in round 1, the second highest in the country after Karachi City.
Sadiqa Ahmed (Forward)
She recently scored the second goal for the Hazara Quetta Football Club and she can glide into central zones from the wider areas. Cutbacks are her main specialty as her precision to pass in the final third is better than most of the Hazara Quetta girls. She played an important role in the comeback victory against Murtaza Hussain’s Highlanders.
Farzana (Forward)
Farzana has been devastating for the opposition from the right flank and she possesses tenacity along with blistering pace as a winger. Physicality has been a strength of the Hazara Quetta team and Farzana has been an integral part of the wing in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 system.
Shamsia Ahmed (Attacking Midfielder)
The skipper of the Hazara Quetta team Shamsia Ahmed has been a leader at the heart of the midfield. She plays as a central attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 system and dictates the play in the half spaces. Shamsia is the sole connector between the midfield and the front line and the captain has led the team with confidence.
Faiza Batool (Midfielder)
The central midfielder tends to play as a shuttler and her pressing is the strong aspect of her game. She often closes down the opposition players and initiates the press for Hazara Quetta which makes her an integral part of the double pivot in Quetta’s formation.
Seema (Defender)
Seema has shown great positional strength and aerial prowess throughout the tournament. Her commanding presence in the defense has helped the Hazara Quetta side marauder a mid-block during Round 1 and Round 2 matches. It was because of her composure at the back that Rajab Ali Hazara’s side conceded zero goals in the Quetta leg.
Arzoo (Goalkeeper)
The Hazara Quetta goalkeeper has been a prominent figure in goal and possesses composure in her ball collection during set pieces and crosses. She has guided the defensive line with her vocal command and knows how to communicate with her defenders during pressure.
Conclusion:
There is no doubt that the Hazara Quetta Football Club has god-gifted talent in their ranks from Balochistan but the level of facilities they have is the least in the country at the moment in comparison to all the clubs that have made it to the semifinals.
Although the Legacy Football team is just a few months old even they have one of the best facilities in Islamabad. Hazara Quetta’s achievement is nothing short of a fairytale and with more exposure over the next few years, they can become one of the top clubs in the country.
