Tandlianwala-born left winger Rashid Noor fired the lone 56th minute goal, as Sahiwal managed 1-0 win over NWFP to win the final of National Under-13 Festival of Football here at Model Town Football Academy (MTFA) Ground on Friday. Lahore District Nazim Mian Amer Mehmood was chief guest and gave away prizes to the winners.
Speaking on the occasion, Amer said that the event for young generation at Lahore reflects the zeal and spirit of the PFF and MTFA for the cause of provincial harmony and unity. He said the event is, undoubtedly, a step towards strengthening ties and fraternity and friendship among people of different regions of Pakistan.
"The activity of sports is of the highest essence for the all-round transformation of our society into a healthy community. Not only does it give a lifetime physical fitness and mental discipline but also the virtues of character, self-esteem and integrity," he said.
Earlier, the tense, absorbing match saw both the teams missing three sure chances in the first half. Wajid Allah, Naheed Ullah and Asad Khan failed to capitalise on 5th, 17th and 33rd minute while Rashid Noor (twice) and Bilal once failed to accomplish the task as Usman Khan was in brilliant touch below bar. Saeed Ullah-coached NWFP, despite being under dogs, put up stubborn display, as it was 0-0 at interval.
According to MTFA's President Mian Rizwan Ali, Rs 125,000 cash award distributed to teams and individuals on the direction of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) President. Sahiwal's skipper Muhammad Bilal took the winning trophy and gold medals from Lahore Nazim, also MTFA's Chairman, in addition to Rs 50,000. NWFP's captain Muhammad Nadeem had to content with silver medals and Rs 20,000. Punjab took third-placed trophy and Rs 20,000 through impressive captain Adnan Ayub.