Emirates, one of the fastest growing international airlines, gave a group of aspiring young cricketers the chance to learn from the newly crowned Faysal Bank National T20 Tournament champions when it hosted a coaching session at a local school. Star cricketers including Raza Hasan, Qaisar Abbas, Shahid Yousuf and Ali Khan from the Sialkot Stallions- which beat the Rawalpindi Rams in Sunday’s final – visited the City School, PAF chapter, to provide lucky youngsters a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet their idols.
The airline – an ICC Official Partner – has a long history of supporting cricket – through its various sponsorships across the globe and through its involvement in the T20 event was able to stage the session which gave kids the chance to pick up technical tips on how to improve their game and ask their heroes questions on how to make the grade.
Commenting on the occasion Shireen Karamally, A-level Headmistress of The City School PAF Chapter, said: “We are thrilled Emirates Airline is working to connect aspiring young cricketers with professionals by hosting such a clinic at our school. We work hard to promote the development of sports, encourage such initiatives and appreciate the support Emirates has extended to the local cricket landscape.”
As part of Emirates collaboration with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), The National T20 Tournament is the first in the series of number of upcoming tournaments that will be sponsored by the airline. These tournaments include the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2011-12, Pentagular Cricket Cup 2011-12, OneDay Cricket Cup 2011-12 and Super 8 T20 Cricket Cup 2012.
“Emirates is committed to the growth of cricket and this is the first of many initiatives we hope to undertake as part of our sponsorship of the PCB,” said Badr Abbas, Vice President, Pakistan & Afghanistan. “Meeting a star player who only the day before was on TV lifting a trophy can have an incredible impact on youngsters. Hopefully it will help inspire them to become the best player they can be which can only be good for the future of the game in Pakistan.”
Emirates has an international affiliation with cricket and its’ ICC Official Partner status gives the airline sponsorship rights to all ICC major tournaments, including the 2011 and 2015 ICC Cricket World Cups, ICC Champions Trophy and ICC World Twenty20. It also sponsors the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, ICC Under-19 World Cup, ICC Intercontinental Cup and the ICC Women’s World Cup. The airline also sponsors the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires and Referees.
