Whilst Britain was burning last week, I managed to scoop out some dramatic examples of cooperation to share with you. Not that I am saying “The Riots Did Not Happen”. Or maybe I am. That’s just the Baudrillardian philosophy coming out in me. See my article on The World Bank Site about perceptions and you will understand the denial.

This week Karachi hasn’t hit the news for the right reasons. Again. The news media has shown another city aflame. Like Britain, Pakistan’s leaders have been debating bringing the army onto the streets to take control. But unlike Britain many, many more have been killed in what appears to be politically motivated unrest. The media tells us once more that “Pakistan is worse”. Much, much worse. Just this very morning, the headline “Seven more killed in Karachi” greeted me over breakfast. Next to the article, Facebook asks readers to “like” it. I would query anyone motivated to do so.

I have mentioned before that the tally of dead-in-Karachi reminds me of a sports match. So let’s talk about sport. I am not saying “There is no violence in Karachi”. Or perhaps I am. Blame Baudrillard again.

I have written about football and Formula 1 motorsport before (see Fundamental football and Extreme strategists) – but I wanted to write specifically about Karachi. Lest you might see Another Face to this city. Not all of the 18 million inhabitants are riding round on motorbikes shooting people in the head. Some of them are playing football.

On discovering my new-found fascination with the sport, and knowing my interest in everything that is Karachi, several people have pointed me in the direction of Karachi United Football Club. The club was founded in 1996, with a handful of amateur weekend footballers, who had once harbored aspirations to become professional footballers. Fifteen years later, having gained a reputation as one of Karachi's premier clubs, they launched Karachi United Football Foundation. Their new website boldly announces, “Sport has the power to change the world” backed up by a Nelson Mandela quote. You might say this is perhaps over-ambitious, but talking to Imran Ali from the Foundation, it is clear that sport in Karachi really is changing young lives.

“Before KUFF came around, children were aimlessly roaming the streets, engaging in petty crimes and were targets for local gangs and militia. Now that they play football four times a week for a few hours every afternoon, it helps take away some of that pent up energy and engages them in a healthy activity. We then use our coaches to instill values such as time management, discipline and the importance of education. By virtue of hailing from the same communities, our coaches also act as role models for the children and protect from vices in the communities”.

KUFF are experts on the football field – Imran spent six years in Britain learning training methods from the best Premiership Academies – but the Foundation has taken the opportunity to take their good work beyond football. Imran explains, “We have also recently starting engaging with parents by providing health awareness to the families so we can start impacting not one child but entire families and then communities, which will help improve living standards”. 

Coming from a footballing nation, (although I STILL haven’t been to a single match!) I was delighted to discover that the sport is played in Karachi – and unlike British fans who have to travel the country to watch their team play, the most exciting football battle appears to happen in Karachi itself, as Imran says “Karachi now has an organised annual league, in the form of the Karachi Premier League in which clubs compete in to be crowned champions of Karachi”. He adds that most Karachi clubs now have youth teams and young players are playing football in numbers never seen before.

One boy from KUFF’s Center of Excellence in Lyari said that the Foundation had given him, above all else, hope: “I have been playing football for a while now but did not see any opportunities. Now with KUFF, I have high hopes and expectations that I stand a greater chance in football and to become somebody, to do something with my life”.

So, there is hope, opportunity, and lives being transformed. AND, by the end of the year, the Foundation will start a training programme for young girls at an NGO-run school.

Is this the Karachi that I read about everyday? I think I might pick up the phone to Cambridge United Football Club this week and see if I can organise a “friendly” as part of my work in uniting the two cities. In the meantime, please tell me more of your un-told stories. Let’s kick the flames off the front pages and celebrate what’s good.