LAHORE: Ahmed Raza – 15-year-old son of Shabbir Ahmed, a Pakistani football maker whose family has been hand stitching footballs for the FIFA World Cup for three generations – will conduct the coin toss at Friday’s match between Brazil and Costa Rica. According to a press release on Thursday, Raza will make history today by becoming the first ever Pakistani to be present on a World Cup field in an official capacity. “The 15-year-old and his father are both football fanatics and Raza’s involvement in the FIFA World Cup 2018 is a dream come true for both of them,” added the press release. Raza, who is a passionate fan of Neymar Jr and the Brazilian football team, will also have the opportunity to meet his favourites in person. Coca-Cola, the company behind the initiative, is also taking Kaleemullah, the captain of Pakistan’s national football team, to Russia for FIFA World Cup. The company has collaborated with two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy to document Raza’s journey from Sialkot to Moscow. The documentary is set to be released next month.
Published in Daily Times, June 22nd 2018.