Muslim FC Chamman wins All Pakistan Football tournament in South Waziristan
SOUTH WAZIRISTAN – As the Muslim FC Chamman won the 3rd All Pakistan Football tournament held at South Waziristan, it was yet another reminder of how peace has settled in a place where once terror prevailed.
After beating Chashma Green Miranshah by three goals to nil on Saturday, a packed stadium engulfed the field – in fact a ‘Cricket’ field. Commandant South Waziristan Scouts Colonel Ijaz was the chief guest on the occasion who awarded Muslim FC Chamman’s Raza Ullah as the player of the tournament.
Muslim FC Chamman showed their experience by keeping a strong grip on the game throughout the match. They attacked at regular intervals to leave a resurgent Chashma Green Miranshah behind by three goals. Chashma Green Miranshah had qualified for the final after a nail biting penalty shoot-out in their semi final encounter.
Wanna Sports Complex saw another full house to end a tournament that became known for its massive turnouts. However, what set it apart was the number of teams that participated it from across the country. Starting on August 22, the tournament included a whooping 85 teams; 35 of which were from outside South-Waziristan. The number of teams alone made it a rigorous and competitive event – mini World Cup.
And the pitch invasion at the end, just look at the passion ??
Whilst they struggle to fill stadiums elsewhere, no such problem here. pic.twitter.com/Xr1VjqU50O
— FootballPakistan.com (@FootballPak) October 8, 2017
The 3rd edition of this football tournament was conducted with the help of Directorate of Sports Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Sports Department of South Waziristan Agency. Moreover, Pakistan Army and Levies provided security to a tournament that spanned 47 days.
South Waziristan Agency Sports Officer Taj Wazir who was also the chief organizer of the tournament said that the overwhelming crowds made this tournament a huge success.
While talking to Pakistan Today over phone, Wazir said that when he was arranging the first edition of the tournament, security situation in the Agency was very brittle. Therefore, only three teams from outside South Waziristan participated in the tournament. “However, after Bhakkar’s team participated in the second edition of the tournament, other teams were encouraged to participate in this edition,” he said.
Taj told Pakistan Today that teams that came from outside South Waziristan were provided with residence, a daily allowance and food throughout their stay. However, he said that this match was played at a Cricket ground, which barred cricketers from playing regularly throughout this tournament. “We would love to have a separate football field with better capacity, so that even better crowds can come to watch these matches,” he said.
