Hawks Bay United and Mubarak Village seal victory on the second day of PALS Football Tournament 2019

Hawks Bay United and Mubarak Village seal victory on the second day of PALS Football Tournament 2019

  

Karachi: Khalil Rehmat aimed at the perfect time to score his first goal on behalf of Hawks Bay United, thus paving the way for a leading stance for the team against rivals, Khalifa Sports.

His second strike determined the team’s definite win by 2 – 0.

Meanwhile, the second relentless match between Mubarak Village and Buleji Baloch witnessed tough competition with both teams scoring a goal each that led to penalty shoot-outs comprising of 5 goals scored by each team. Mubarak Village emerged victorious as a result of the final penalty shoot-out with Mehar Ali claiming the winning strike, therefore concluding the team’s win by 7 - 6. 

Prior to this day, Hawk’s Bay Combine won the first match of the tournament by 1 – 0 against Kakapir village while Baloch Combine too claimed victory against Gulshan Sports as a result of a penalty shoot-out. 

Given his athletic brilliance, Khalil Rehmat was recognised as the ‘Man of the Match’ on the second day of the qualifying round while Mehar Ali was awarded the same title for the nail-biting win against Buleji Baloch. 

Both Hawks Bay United and Mubarak Village have qualified for the semi-final round. 

The final match is scheduled to take place on Friday, March 01, 2019. All matches are being played at the Buleji Ground of Abdur Rehman Goth, and the tournament is being attended by local notables, government officials, elected representatives, and sports enthusiasts among others.

Pakistan Life Saving Foundation (PALS Rescue), the country’s only privately run near-shore water safety, drowning prevention and rescue body, has organized this first ever football tournament for the youth of fishing communities located along the coastline of Karachi. The tournament titled, ‘PALS Football Tournament 2019’ commenced on February 25 for a total of seven matches that are being played by eight participating teams.  

“Football is the most cherished sport of the local communities which our lifeguards represent. We have therefore, organized this tournament with the purpose of gathering everyone on a unified platform, aiming to achieve community development,” said Reza Samad, Founder & President of PALS Rescue, “We anticipate that it will help enhance soft skills that will further instill a sense of belonging and encourage our people to go an extra mile while they are on duty. With this, we look forward to making PALS Football Tournament an annual retreat and something to look forward to.”

This football tournament which is the first of its kind is expected to bring the already close knit communities for a recreational activity. The final match will be followed by a prize distribution ceremony during which the winning trophy will be given to the victorious team and cash prizes distributed.  

Pakistan Life Saving Foundation (PALS Rescue) was founded as an NGO in July 2004 out of the sheer necessity to commence a free service that would provide life-saving facilities at the beaches of Karachi. It now employs more than 250 highly trained lifeguards representing the fishing community while the demand for their services doubles during the monsoon season. Till date, the organisation has employed more than 1,000 lifeguards and saved over 5,000 lives, and provides protection to 8 million beach visitors on an annual basis.