London, Monday 22nd August
TouchSky Sports today announced that the historical FIFA football match between India and Pakistan being held in Derby will be hosted in memory of the three young men who lost their lives during the recent riots in Birmingham.
TouchSky Sports Director Peter Virdee said, “The football match has the potential to provide a very public show of support from the whole community which stood together during the riots and the subsequent sad loss of these three lives.”
The lives of these three hero’s can never be replaced however measures need to be put in place for the prevention of future incidents and to bridge the divide within the community. In recognition of this objective and following kind agreement from Tariq Jahan and other family members we wish to donate all profits from the match to set-up a legacy programme dedicated to the memory of Haroon Jahan, Abdul Mussavir and Shahzad Ali.
The football match, which has been in planning for the past nine months, and is entitled Clash of the Titans, will take place at Derby FC’s Pride Park on Saturday 3rd September. This will be the first time that India & Pakistan have played each other in football in the United Kingdom. The match will be attended by Tariq Jahan, Abdul Quddoos and other family members and friends. It will be launched with a one-minute silence in memory of the young men; both teams will also wear black armbands.
Directors of TouchSky Sports commented that, “throughout this tragedy many people from varying backgrounds both social and religious have shown their support for the families. Therefore the overriding objective of the match is to help bring communities together and foster interfaith cohesion.”
TouchSky Sports has been working with the Non-Violence Project’s Futbol for Peace (F4P) to deliver grassroots violence prevention and peace education through football. F4P was launched at the FIFA World Cup in 2010 in South Africa, and aims to provide young people with the resources to solve conflicts peacefully and raise awareness for alternatives to violence. Supporters of F4P include David James, Aaron Mokoena, Ryan Babel and Michael Ballack.
TouchSky Sports hopes that this historical match will provide a vital catalyst for communities, authorities and the football community at large to begin to address the issues that have been raised through the senseless loss of these three lives. TouchSky Sports wants to ensure that these lives were not lost in vein and that the concerns and wishes of the family remain integral to the program.
Ends
Notes to the Editors
1. Press conference in Birmingham to be announced.
2. For further information and details of the days events please visit www.clashothetitansuk.