Embassy of the United States

Press Releases 2007

Minister Counselor for Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy, James H. Williams, awards prizes to the female football players of a local club at the U.S. State Department-sponsored Youth Enrichment Summer Program at the U.S. Embassy on Thursday.

State Department Sponsors Local Girls Football Club

Islamabad – The U.S. Embassy’s Minister Counselor for Public Affairs, James H. Williams, said that by supporting Pakistan’s efforts to develop women’s football, “we hope to inspire another generation of young girls in the same way that young girls in the U.S. have been inspired by the generations before them.”

The American diplomat was speaking here Thursday at the send-off ceremony of the Young Rising Stars Female Football Club of Rawalpindi to the National Women’s Football Championship, beginning August 16.

Also speaking on the occasion, the Federal Minister for Sports, Shamim Haider, said that the program will encourage Pakistani women to enter into mainstream of sports. “We would like to offer more of such programs to the Pakistani youth in future so as to highlight the soft image of the country,” he added.

This State Department-sponsored “Youth Enrichment Summer Program” stressing football coaching, training and fitness program is funded by the Office of Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and is intended for girls aged 12 to 20 from underserved areas near Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

“Training the mind and body through physical fitness is an important part of being a well-rounded individual and often becomes a source of self-confidence that spills into everyday life,” the American envoy told the young group of Pakistani women football players.

Minister Counselor James Williams said that working as a team was an essential component of success in the modern world. “Playing a team sport can also contribute to developing leadership qualities and teaches responsibility,” he added.

The six-month girls soccer training camp began on May 15. Some thirty-six finalists have been selected from a larger group through competitive local ‘try-outs’ drawing on a pool of over 100 girls from areas in and around Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The President of Pakistan Football Federation Women’s Branch, Rubina Irfan, and Chief Organizer of the football club, Ghayasuddin Baloch, were also present on the occasion.