ISLAMABAD: There is a growing interest in youngsters for football here in Pakistan, particularly among women, which is why football players from Argentina will be brought to Pakistan for their training.

This was pointed out by the Argentinian Ambassador Francisco Sahores, who hosted a barbecue at his house, in celebration of Argentina’s win in the FIFA World Cup finale.

Mr Sahores welcomed the guests and said: “We have two young female football players from Chitral and Quetta and we are working with them to bring some female football players from Argentina to do some training for them and work on women’s empowerment.”

Argentina beat France in the penalty shootout of the FIFA World Cup 2022 final at Qatar’s Lusail Stadium to become the winners. In a thrilling and unprecedented finish, the final went to a penalty shootout after it finished 3-3 in extra-time.

Ambassador Sahores said: “We are seeing a growing interest in youngsters for football here. Of course, we are crazy about football in Argentina; you might have seen pictures of four or five million people on the streets. Today we are going to have a much more civilised celebration with this barbecue and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy new year and to thank you for your friendship and support.”

Nageen Hyat said: “It was a joyful celebration by Ambassador Leopoldo and his team - inclusive of all age groups and cultures. Fun meeting up with friends and family members. The gathering was casual, relaxed and in good spirit.”

Farah Rani said: “The barbeque lunch celebrating the victory of Argentina in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 championship was attended by the diplomatic and local community alike.”

Ambassador of Morocco Mohamed Karmoune said: “The final world cup match was a wonderful game. It was historical because of the way the FIFA World Cup was celebrated and organised in Qatar which is an Arabic country and Morocco also did very well, which is a great achievement of the team. Morocco represents not only the Kingdom of Morocco but also the Islamic, Arab and African nations.”

Cristina von Sperling Afridi said: “As a Brazilian, after we had lost our possibility to win the cup, we naturally support our hermanos [brethren] from South America. I am very happy they won specially with Messi who really deserved the world cup as he is not going to be playing in a world cup championship again.

“The second winner for me was Morocco. Apart from a great performance, the value given to mothers was unprecedented. It was overall a great opportunity showing Islamic traditions and hospitality. Sport is a great way to bring people together and today’s barbecue celebrates this great achievement,” she added.

Government officials and dignitaries and diplomats, members of the civil society and people from the business community, enjoyed the celebration and delicious informal barbecue.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2022