PCB partners with Uber for girls cricket growth plan

The six-month partnership, which commences from the day of signing, will benefit more than 1,500 players through collaboration with schools and colleges in 14 cities namely Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, Charsadda, Haripur, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Mardan, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Nowshera, Peshawar, Quetta and Rawalpindi.

Under the six-month partnership, playing and training clothing will be provided to 850 children, while cricket equipment will be provided to 50 schools. The programme will select a minimum of four schools in every city. With women coaches and mentors given priority, 50 school-based sports staff will be provided training. Twenty-five pitches will be developed in schools across five zones.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said: "For the promotion of women and girls cricket and the enhancement of the player pool, it is imperative that women cricket is developed at school level. The PCB has been undertaking many initiatives through its Cric4Us Programme and plans to exhaust all avenues to provide better opportunities for girls to take up the sport and to see it as a viable profession at a later stage."

GM Uber Saad Naveed Pall said: "Our goal is to not only tell stories of empowered women but to create an ecosystem which enables aspiring women cricketers. We are excited about this partnership with the PCB to provide opportunities to young girls who will go on to challenge the status quo by becoming change agents of the future."

Cric4Us Programme is a women cricket development project launched under the flagship of Women Cricket Vision 2022, which focuses on the growth of the sport in schools and provide a proper pathway for making way to the emerging and national teams.

The schools' children will also avail the opportunity of regular evening practice, so as to provide them maximum development opportunities. The schools will also play matches on regular basis, which will help children in developing the desired skill-set.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

Read Comments