Staff Reporter
Karachi
Standard Chartered announced the launch of its “Standard Chartered Karachi United Youth League” as part of its community service mandate to promote sports amongst children. This is the third time in a row that the Bank is sponsoring the league. The objective of the “Standard Chartered Karachi United Youth League” is to provide a platform for Youth football teams from across the underserved areas of Karachi to come together, break barriers and inculcate the spirit and culture of sport and competition. In the last two years, the Standard Chartered KU Youth League has had over 1400 beneficiaries including boys and girls. There were multiple case studies that were published and amplified through social media of how the competition enabled many examples of team work, volunteerism in the community, leadership and new friendships across communities and children that generally do not interact with each other. This year’s league will see three boys’ competitions in the following age categories: Under 10 years, Under 12 years and Under 14 years. The format is that of a group system from which the top teams qualify directly for the quarter-finals and beyond. The Standard Chartered KU Youth League also includes a Girls tournament where over 100 girls will participate. Additionally, this year, some Government schools have also been invited to participate to broaden engagement and provide opportunities. This year’s competition will see a total of 1000+ boys and girls from across Karachi participate in matches. In order to increase the standard of the league, official referees and match commissioners have been appointed for every match. A total of 177 matches will be played in ten different locations including Old Golimar, Clifton, Shireen Jinnah, Keamari, Malir, Baldia, Lyari, Korangi, Manghopir and Mauripur, which promises to attract football fans from all over Karachi. Commenting on the sponsorship, Shazad Dada, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Pakistan said, “Standard Chartered is proud to partner for the third year with Karachi United to bring to you the “SC KU Youth League”.
