Zubair Qureshi
Acting High Commissioner of the United Kingdom (UK) Andrew Dalgleish on Saturday reiterated his country’s commitment to provide equal opportunities to women and girls not only in sports but also in business, education, politics, diplomacy and leadership etc.
“To create space for women in all fields of life and across the board is at the heart of the UK Foreign Secretary’s new programme to support girls and women,” said Andrew Dalgleish.
He expressed these views after presenting the trophy to the winning team of a friendly football match played between the teams of the Chevening United and the BHC United.
Syeda Mahpara Shahid, Captain of WAPDA women football team, was the guest of honour on this occasion. Andrew Dalgleish said, “The year 2023 only marks coronation of King Charles III, it also celebrates 40th anniversary of Chevening Programme and I am happy to inform that around 2,000 Pakistani students and scholars have availed themselves of this award and are serving and influencing the society in different key roles.”
The British High Commission, said Andrew, is working for a greater inclusivity of women in sports and ‘Chevening Sports Diplomacy’ is a way of promoting women in sports and to encourage them to consider sport as a professional avenue. I am happy to observe a real growth of interest among women in sports in recent times such as women’s premier football, women’s cricket team visiting Birmingham in Commonwealth games last year and now a British football club Swindon Town training Karachi footballers. This is a change from the grass root level and we welcome it, he said.
About the UK-Pakistan relations, he said the love of sports is a shared value between the people of the UK and Pakistan and an extension of the two countries’ long-standing relationship based on their strong cultural, diplomatic, trade and development ties.
In total, two matches were played between Chevening and the BHC —“Men vs Men” and “Men & Women vs Men & Women”— and Chevening United won both the matches by a big margin, first by 3-1 and the second by 7-1.
The acting high commissioner was all praise for the overwhelming presence and participation of women on a sunny Saturday in the lawns of the British Club and congratulated Farid Kasi, Captain of the Chevening team for handing a ‘crushing defeat’ to the BHC team in both the fixtures. Ewan Harris was leading the BHC side. Although the BHC side had some good defenders and strikers like Stephen Southerland and Tom Hyde, the Chevening side proved ‘too good’ for them. Chevening United goalkeeper Mahpara Shahid defended the goalpost like a warrior while the strikers Kasi and Karishma did the rest of the work. Female members of the Special Talent Exchange Programme (STEP) were also there to support and raise slogans for the Chevening teams. Deputy High Commissioner Martin Dawson who had come from Karachi to attend the event termed it a real treat to watch sports players making successful moves and beating their male counterparts.
