Daily Times

Afghan FC Chaman were crowned the champions of the 3rd Ufone Balochistan Football Cup at the Mali Bagh Football Stadium in Quetta which was packed with a mammoth crowd on Thursday night. The Afghan FC Chaman faced Jallawan FC Khuzdar for the title decider. Both teams emerged as the strongest out of 48 that participated in the tournament.

Naimatullah from Chaman’s team scored an early goal during the 19th minute through a corner, putting the team in a leading position. The Khuzdar team started attacking Chaman’s goal post but could not breach the strong defense line. Fazal Muhammad from Khuzdar struck a header in the 28th minute but Chaman’s goal-keeper Hameedullah made a thrilling save. Cham won another corner in the 32nd minute when Khuzdar’s goal-keeper Saleem made a diving save.

During the half-time Quetta based singer and musician Izhaar Ali performed the championship’s official anthem ‘Jeet Ke Dikha Do’ and received huge applause from the crowd. In the second half, Chaman won a free-kick during the 46th minute but was not successful in scoring. Abdur Rahim from Chaman struck in an attacking move during the 51st minute, putting his team in a stable position. Chaman dominated the game from here on, with Naimatullah striking a header in the 56th minute but missing. Khuzadar’s Fazal Muhammad did win a corner in the 63rd minute but the forwards lacked the coordination to score.

Jallawan FC Khuzdar was disordered and lacked coordination on the field. On the other hand, Afghan FC clearly dominated the game by displaying excellent coordination as a unit and put its opponents at the defensive and registered a convincing 2-0 victory. President of Balochistan Football Association Quetta Muhammad Asghar Kasi was also present on the occasion. Ufone’s Regional General Manager (South), Syed Faisal Rizvi handed over the championship trophy to the winning team’s captain Jadeed Khan. Medals were distributed among all top four teams along with cash prizes. “We have enjoyed playing this season and all the team mates have worked very hard to get to this stage. We are very happy with our performance and look forward to the next season,” said Jadeed Khan, Captain of the winning team Afghan FC Chaman.

Speaking on the occasion, the President of Balochistan Football Association Quetta Muhammad Asghar Kasi said that he was very happy to see the level of talent the youth displayed during the tournament, “The level of arrangements, especially the games being played under lights and live broadcast, speaks volumes about Ufone’s commitment to developing football in the province, and I would like to congratulate them for a highly successful tournament this year,” he added. The championship was organized with the aim of developing and promoting football which is the favourite sport of Balochistan’s youth.