Karachi United Schools Championship: A great initiative

As the Karachi United Schools Championship (KUSC) reached its semi-final stage, it was broadcast live on Geo Super, a welcome change in a country where football can grow exponentially but alas remains neglected.

For many students, playing football in front of a roaring crowd and being filmed on live television is only a dream. However for Nixor College, St. Patricks, City School and Agha Khan Secondary School it was one which came true yesterday.

The four schools took on each other at the Baloch Mujahid Stadium and while it was Nixor and City School that progressed, the football played was enjoyed by everyone whether in the stadium or whether comfortably watching the games from at home.

Kareem Kerai’s free-kick brought even the most careless of supporters to their feet and showed that Pakistan’s future in the game was quite bright. Karachi United have taken a great step to develop competitive football in the city and while their efforts
are laudable, this is something which the PFF should have been doing on a regular basis.

Nevertheless, in other parts of the country as well, School tournaments are being held in collaboration with their respective football associations. A glaring example was the hugely popular, Islamabad Schools Tournament (IST), that was financed by Headstart
but organized by the Islamabad Football Association.

Championships such as the KUSC and IST are something which will groom the stars of tomorrow and provide them with a platform to showcase their skills. For the sake of Pakistani football, the PFF must encourage these and try to start National competition
so that the champion of each city has a chance to take on each other and battle it out for supremacy as the undisputed school team of Pakistan.

Posted by Shahrukh Sohail on Jan 21 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry