SIALKOT, June 8: The Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) and ILO on Friday (today) will jointly launch a ‘new sports module’ for physical and mental growth of the children who earlier had worked as labourers in the soccer ball industry here.

The launching ceremony will be held at Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).

ILO Sialkot project manager Mian Muhammad Binyameen told the press here on Thursday that the new initiative would be launched under the joint ILO, International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and FIFA project.

He said the IPEC had successfully eliminated child labour from the soccer ball industry. He said as part of its efforts to continue to enhance the health and well-being of the children concerned, football would be introduced in education and rehabilitation programmes.

Mr Binyameen said the new initiative would be launched on Friday, the day of the inaugural football match of the FIFA 2006 World Cup in Germany.

He said ILO-IPEC Pakistan chief technical adviser Ahmet Ozirmak, consultant Nicholas Grisewood, Pakistan Football Federation director Mir Farooq Ahmad, representatives of German embassy and other FIFA officials would speak on the occasion.

He said ex-child stitchers from the ILO-IPEC project and children of a school would play a short football match at Government Jinnah Islamia College, Sialkot today.

PAPERS FILED: Different candidates filed nomination papers on Thursday from LA-32, Jammu-III, on the last day of submission of papers for the July 11 elections of the AJK legislative assembly.