The 4th KUFF & British Council DOSTI Playing For Peace U16 Futsal Tournament took place at Muhammadi Stadium in Memon Goth, Karachi yesterday 20 May 2012.
A total of 8 teams from across Karachi participated including: KUFF Malir Centre (Blue and Orange), Azam Sports (Dright Road), Irfan Memorial (Landhi), Arora FC, Muhammadi Sports, Kohinoor Sports, and Aslam Sports.
The event began with quarter-finals stage. Azam Sports hammered Kohinoor Sports 11-0 with 5 goals from M Hasaan, 2 from Adil, and a goal each from Anwaiz, Umair, and Bilal. KUFF Malir Blue beat Irfan Memorial 5-0 with 2 goals each from M Ikhlas and Saqib, while M Shehzad managed a goal as well. Arora FC had to beat Aslam Sports via coin toss after match had finished 2-2 after normal time and sudden death period. KUFF Malir Orange then beat Muhammad Sports youth 5-0 with goals from Sanaullah (3), Junaid (1) and Arsalan (1).
The semi-final stage then saw Azam Sports edge past Arora FC 3-2 thanks to a M Hasaan hat-trick while Ali Bahar and Qasim scored for Arora. KUFF Malir Blues beat their fellow Orange team 5-4 on penalties after 0-0 draw. The 3rd place game then saw KUFF Malir Orange beat Arora FC 3-0 with goals from Yawar, Waqar, and Arsalan.
The final was then played between KUFF Malir Centre Blues and Azam Sports. A tight game saw normal time finish at 1-1 with goals from Saqib (KUFF Malir Blues, 16′) and M Hasaan (Azam Sports, 22′). This forced a penalty shootout in which KUFF Malir Blues won 7-6 in sudden death to be crowned DOSTI U16 Futsal champions.
Azam Sports’ Muhammad Hasaan finished with Top Scorer prize with 9 goals, Muhammad Ikhlas of KUFF Malir Centre Blues got Best Player award, while KUFF Malir Centre Orange’s Bakhtiar got Best Goalkeeper prizes. Referees were M Umar, Imran Hussain, Shahid Ahmed, Babar Khan, and match commissioners Abdul Karim and Khalid Majeed.
The tournament, 4th such event being held at a time across Karachi thanks to Karachi United Football Foundation and British Council, was attended by Abdul Shakoor – President of Muhammad Sports. He thanked KUFF for giving his club the opportunity to act as venue for the event. Abdul Shakoor vowed his club’s support for any future projects KUFF has in mind for his area.
KUFF trustee Adeel Rizki praised Muhammad Sports for the arrangements made for the DOSTI U16 tournament and revealed that KUFF will plan to host youth football events not just in Karachi, but also across Pakistan. Adeel Rizki said that Hyderabad, Thatta, Quetta, Chaman, Pishin and other cities will see KUFF events taking place in near future, and that KUFF is constantly in touch with football associations of the respective areas to make the events a reality.