Pakistan's Street Child Football Team Gears Up for Norway Cup in Islamabad

The Pakistan street child football team is currently undergoing training in Islamabad in preparation for the Norway Cup, the world’s largest tournament for individuals aged between 10 and 19.

The team members were selected through nationwide trials and are currently being trained at the Islamabad Sports Complex.

The final squad for the Norway Cup, scheduled to take place from July 27 to August 5, will be announced after the training camp. Last year, Pakistan achieved an impressive performance in the Street Child World Cup held in Doha, Qatar, finishing in second place. Despite remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament, they lost in the final against Egypt on penalties (4-3).

Tufail Shinwari, Pakistan’s forward, was recognized as the best player of the tournament after scoring 13 goals. His outstanding performance included consecutive hat-tricks against Bosnia and Qatar before the team reached the knockout stage.

In the previous edition of the tournament held in Russia in 2018, Pakistan was the runner-up, while in Brazil in 2014, they finished third.

The selection process for the Pakistani team involved training 90 players over the course of a year-long trial conducted by Muslim Hands, a charity organization in Pakistan. During the trials, stipends were provided to the families of the selected players, encouraging them to support their children’s participation in professional football, despite many of them working to support their relatives.

It is worth mentioning that India did not advance beyond the group stage in the tournament. The Street Child World Cup, which featured 28 teams from 24 countries, was organized by Street Child United, a non-profit organization based in the UK.

Pakistan’s Street Child Football Team Gears Up for Norway Cup in Islamabad

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