ISLAMABAD: A football team groomed by the Muslim Hands has left Islamabad for Qatar to participate in the Street Child Football World Cup taking place in Doha from October 7 to 15.
Talking to media, Country Director of Muslim Hands Syed Zia Ul Noor said the Muslim Hands selected these players for the team after conducting trials in 17 cities.
He said the selected players were later sent to the main football academy of Mirpur Azad Kashmir for their training and practice. The team had played matches with various clubs across the country to prepare for the tournament.
The country director hoped that the team would make the nation proud this year with their extra ordinary performance in the world cup.
He said the Muslim Hands Street child football team participated in the World Cup held in Brazil in 2014 and the Norway Cup in 2015 and finished on the podium.
The same team also secured the third position while participating in the Gothia Cup held in China in 2016, he added.
Noor said the team was undefeated throughout the tournament, but the rival team defeated them in the semi-finals. While in 2018, this team was able to get the second position in the FIFA Street Children World Cup held in Moscow.
On this occasion, Raja Arslan Nusrat from Muslim Hands Pakistan said his organization was committed to the development of football in Pakistan as its 17 academies were operational across the country and vowed to increase this number.
He said Muslim Hands was determined to encourage and actively mentor these youth to represent the country at international forums.
Syed Zia Ul Noor said that more than 30 children trained under the auspices of Muslim Hands were playing football at the national level on behalf of various departments including Pakistan Army, Navy, WAPDA, Sui Northern Gas and other departments.
In this way, eight children in the national team approved by FIFA have come out of the academies of Muslim Hands. Muslim Hands has been working with street children since 2014 under its Sports for Development program.
