ISLAMABAD The Pakistan Football Federation has hired AFC-certified coaches to conduct Football for Hope coaching camps in Mardan.

The two-week clinic has been launched by the PFF to help the youth living in relief camps set up for the mass exodus from Swat, Buner and Lower Dir.

'The plight of the people of Swat and Malakand is terrible. They are the innocent victims of the conflict inside the Pakistan. Many families are living out in the open. They need help and our attention. I am sure all the sports association will respond with resilience and determination. PFF has decided to run Coaching Clinic at Mardan and is planning to set up,' PFF President Faisal Saleh Hayat said on Tuesday.

Over 250 boys reported at the clinic on the first day and received training from the AFC coaches.

Earlier on Monday, administrative officials in Mardan provided four schools as venue for the PFF clinics and coaches Tahir Mahmood, Shahid Salim, Irfan Niazi, along with former players Raza Muhammad, Swat-born national referee Muhammad Amin carried out the training sessions.