By Ali Jan Shaukat
With the New Year approaching, a new generation of players takes the field for Defence football Fiesta ’11, the first of a biannual tournament going to take place in Defence, Lahore from the 15th of January, 2011. The youth of Pakistan gets a chance to show what it’s got, the potential it has and more importantly the coverage it deserves. You will experience a tournament like never before with a group stage format, an online platform and youth scouts from all over Pakistan looking for players with the capability to perform on an International stage.
THE TOURNAMENT
It is an U20 football tournament in which 32 teams start out in the Group Stages with 16 teams progressing to the Knockout Stages from which one winner will emerge. Most tournaments do not have a group stage and this tournament gives new comers and experienced teams likewise the opportunity to show their skills on a bigger stage than other tournaments offer.
Due to the fact that most of the players are students, the matches shall be held on the weekends only. All football rules apply and we hope all teams will display the utmost respect to each other as it is not about winning but performing your best.
During the later stages of the tournament there will also be a Free Style Free-for-All tournament held for everyone to participate. The Finalist performs during the half time at the final and receives a cash prize as well. The winning team receives 35,000 Rs. and runners up receive 10,000 Rs. with additional prizes as well.
THE GOAL
This tournament will be the first of its series which we will hold twice a year to showcase the best of the youth of Pakistan and raise awareness of their potential. The tournament is specifically designed to give new comers a better chance and gain important experience of playing in big tournaments.
The event will be followed up by its second term of the biannual tournament in the summer of 2011 for which the four semi finalists will automatically qualify. This organization is not a profit-oriented team and we shall be donating majority of the funds to charity.
MEDIA COVERAGE
All of the tournament is being covered by FootballPakistan.com, a website dedicated specifically for the Youth of Pakistan and who are working with us to raise awareness of our capabilities. You may contact us on our Facebook fan page and also see our YouTube channel dedicated to the tournament.
We shall arrange for school children to attend the tournament to cheer on the players and show many what it is like to play in front of an audience, something many new comers may have never experienced. Furthermore the school children will see other kids playing and will indeed be impressed as well as motivated to pursue this sport which we all love.
Our team shall be working day and night to achieve our goal and InshAllah we shall succeed. We have the capability and the potential to overcome all barriers and attain our main goal f raising awareness for the youth of our country.
Best of luck to all participating from the organizing team.
The Team: – Omer Jan Shaukat, Ali Jan Shaukat, Sufiyan Nadeem, Tamour Razi
Mobile: –
03218865474; 03218490565
Email: –
defencefootballfiesta@gmail.com, shaukat.alijan@yahoo.com, omer-jan@live.com