PESHAWAR
The second Friendship Football Cup under the auspices of Director of Youth Affairs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has come to an end with Darul Uloom Taleem-ul-Quran clinched the coveted trophy after defeating Christian Minority XI team by 3-0 in the final played at Qayyum Sports Complex on Saturday.
The final match produced thrilling and attacking Games which was largely enjoyed by the capacity crowd present on this occasion. There were a large number of Christian Youth and students from various Madaras across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who largely enjoyed the match played at a rattling pace.
The team of Madrasa Taleem-ul-Quran Bara Gate Peshawar defeated the minority team Krishna Nowshera by 3-0 and won the title.
Director Youth Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irfan Ali was the chief guest on this occasion who also witnessed the final along with Assistant Director Youth Naeem Gul, former captain of Pakistan football team Arshad Khan, Organizing Secretary Malik Hidayat-ul-Haq, international footballer Aajez Ghafoor and former Pakistan team skipper Basit Kamal and other important personalities.
Qari Sharifullah, the skipper of Darul Uloom Taleem-ul-Quran, and Qari Ehsanullah, the right-winger, scored one goal each to give the team a lead in the very first session of the final match while Qari Obaid Ullah slammed in the third goal through field attempt.
Christian Minority XI team Krishna Club tried their hardest to reduce the margin and they even got golden opportunities in the 6th minute of the final match when they were awarded a penalty kick but the attempt of Javed Mashi went wide from the goal-post.
Krishna Club of Minorities, having services of players from all across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, tried their hardest to get the lead but they failed due to poor finishing and thus failed to score any goal. In the fir4st 20-minute play Krishna club of Minorities kept up pressure and made some good rallies of attacks but despite good chances, they failed to score any goal.
On the other hand the players of Darul Uloom Taleem-ul-Quran Peshawar managed their position and succeeded in taking two goals lead through skipper Qari Sharif Ullah and Qari Ehsanullah. Leading 2-0 at half-time, Darul Uloom Taleem-ul-Quran Peshawar scored another goal in the second session when Qari Obaid, the center striker, netted a fine goal, to make the tally 3-0. Thus Darul Uloom Taleem-ul-Quran won the match 3-0. Jamshed Khan supervised the match while Zahid and Idrees acted as line judges and Zahid acted as match commissioner.
Speaking on the occasion, Director Youth Affairs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irfan Ali said that it is a healthy sign for the youth of religious madrassas and minority communities to play side-by-side to strengthen their brotherhood.
He said the aim and objective of holding the Madras students and Christian communities’ teams’ matches is to develop inter faith harmony. He said students of all religions and madaras were part of the tournament. The tournament was organized to build harmony and brotherhood in which three teams consisting of youth from minority communities and three teams consisting of students of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa madrassas, he added.
He said the Directorate of Youth Affairs, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would continue to play an important role in promoting not only football but also other sports. Irfan Ali added that 46 per cent of the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is youth and focusing on this could lead to positive results. By attracting the youth towards healthy activities, a good society can be established.
