Daily Times

Sir: Once again, the eyes of the world tuned in to watch the latest edition of the FIFA World Cup, held in Russia this year. It is truly the biggest sporting spectacle in the world and the people of Pakistan are not unaffected by all the hype. The sport has a great following in the nation today, in every walk of life, and it is heartening to see people unite over this beautiful game.

This year’s World Cup got off to a great start as the host nation, Russia, managed to beat Saudi Arabia by five goals. In the crowd, Russian premier Vladimir Putin watched on in delight as his team won, while on his left, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman sat forlornly watching his team lose so badly. But they used this opportunity to not only enjoy the event, but to also talk diplomacy and this was yet another great advantage of this incredible game.

In Pakistan, the support for football has grown steadily over the years and no matter the age, everybody can enjoy it equally. People sit glued to their TV screens, print out entire schedules, stay up till the hours of the morning in order to get watch their favorite teams and football stars in action. However, it is disheartening to see that our actual team is ranked a lowly 198th in the world, despite the fact that the footballs being used at the World Cup were made right here in Sialkot.

This is a failure of the government and the sports authorities that this popular game has not been provided any support, even though there is a lot of potential present around the country. The people of Lyari have long been known for their skills and even the great Brazilian football star Ronaldinho expressed his admiration for their talents when he visited the country recently. With so many football fans present in the country, wouldn’t it be absolutely spectacular to see our men in green and white represent Pakistan in the World Cup in the future. It is up to the state to stop ignoring football and make this dream a reality.

TEHZEEB YOUSUF BALOCH

Kech

Published in Daily Times, June 21^st 2018.