HBL initiates work on grassroots development of Football in Pakistan with the talented Street Children Football World Cup team

PAKISTAN: Following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing with Azad Foundation in May this year, Pakistan’s first commercial bank Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has initiated work on the grassroots development of Football in Pakistan.

The joint partnership between HBL and Azad Foundation is set to nurture the talent of the bronze medal winning football team which represented Pakistan at Street Child World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in March and April 2014 and will provide a platform to foster and promote future football talent from Pakistan.

The project will simultaneouslywork for the uplift of underprivileged children and the promotion of football at the grassroots level in Pakistan, chiefly through financial and institutional support.Furthermore, this project underscores HBL's pledge to support and enable the Street Children Team and highlight Pakistan on the world's football stage.

With football fever gripping the nation, this development is set to give hope to local fans of seeing Team Pakistan compete alongside the heavyweights of the global football arena.

Speaking of the project, HBL’s Head of Strategy and Investments, Aman Aziz Siddiqui stated: "At HBL, we strongly believe in nurturing and promoting Pakistani talent, irrespective of socio-economic background or societal standing.

Sport will always be an area where Pakistanis from humble backgrounds can make a name for themselves and with a little support, can achieve their dreams. HBL has a strong legacy of supporting Pakistani sports be it developing and improving infrastructure, enlarging the technical base of the local sports industry, organizing/ supporting Pakistani tournaments and providing jobs or monetary benefits to sportsmen.

For us, supporting the Street Children Football Team is a privilege, as it provides us the opportunity to work alongside a talented group of Pakistani sportsmen and enable them to achieve their dreams in Pakistan and abroad.”

Naveed Hasan Khan, Chairman of the Management Committee of the Azad Foundationsaid: “Azad Foundation is committed to improve the well-being and self-esteem of alienated and marginalized street children, through unconditional positive support; with the view to reintegrate street children with their family and society. Providing these children with a platform to further enhance and develop their skills after their heartwarming performance earlier in the year is indeed a step in the right direction and we are thankful that an institution such as HBL believes in our mission."

HBL has been promoting sports in Pakistan for the last five decades, a development strategy it adopted in 1969, when HBL for the first time developed and nurtured its own hockey team. Over the years HBL has further taken up Cricket, Squash, Basketball, Table Tennis and Shooting disciplines, thereby paving the way for other public and private sector organisations to lend their support to national sporting initiatives.

HBL is the largest private sector bank with over 1,500 branches and 1,400 ATMs and has presence in 25 countries.

About HBL:

HBL was the first commercial bank to be established in Pakistan in 1947. Over the years, HBL has grown its branch network and has become the largest private sector bank with over 1,500 branches and 1,400 ATMs across the country and a customer base exceeding five million relationships.

With presence in 25 countries, subsidiaries in Hong Kong and the UK, affiliates in Nepal, Kenya and Kyrgyzstan and rep offices in Iran and China, HBL is also the largest domestic multinational bank.

The Bank is expanding its presence in principal international markets including the UK, UAE, South and Central Asia, Africa and the Far East.

Key areas of operations encompass product offerings and services in Retail and Consumer Banking. HBL has the largest Corporate Banking portfolio in the country with an active Investment Banking arm.

SME and Agriculture lending programs and banking services are offered in urban and rural centers.

Azad Foundation envisions a world where the rights of all children are realized, where every child is protected from violence, exploitation and abuse through State mechanisms and where children no longer have to live or work on streets. Azad Foundation is committed to improve the well-being and self-esteem of alienated and excluded street children, through unconditional positive support with the view to reintegrate street children with their family and society. It shall ensure and establish that every street child is enabled to contribute to the structure of society in the sense of harmony, peace and socially integrated living.