Gang Violence on Hold as Lyari becomes Pakistan’s Football Central

[sparklingway]

Personal Note:- Ignore the kids at the start of the video, they clearly are not from Lyari (not because of their skills but because of their visible economic prosperity). Lyari is the undisputed capital of football in Pakistan. While our EPL-crazed upper middle and elite class would like to claim itself to be the "rightful watchers" (as is the norm in many sporting events) of football, their fancy clubs are no match to the soccer clubs of Lyari. Besides some genuine craze there's the fad of watching EPL among our elite and nouveau riche but Lyari remains football addicted as it ever was, not because its people speak in faux English accents.

Gang Violence on Hold as Lyari becomes Pakistan’s Football Central​

Posted on June 12, 2010

Adil Najam

Lyari, Karachi’s oldest settlement, is the undisputed capital of football in Pakistan. It is also a perpetual seat of horrible gang violence. Last week, Lyari was again being drenched in blood as the gang war continues. Today (and yesterday) it was at a standstill as all eyes in Lyari were glued at the opening games of the FIFA Football World Cup 2010. Tomorrow (or maybe even later today) the red patches may again come from the blood of the young in Lyari being spilled needlessly, but right now the streets are decked with the flags of the teams playing a world away in South Africa.

Lyari, during football fever, is a sight to behold. An amazement even more amazing for anyone who has visited this extremely poor and violence struck community in other times. It gets draped in flags of whichever teams are playing - as you see in this picture, even the flag of the United States; something that one one never see being flown anywhere in Pakistan today! - and then the conversation gets passionate, technically intricate, and lines get drawn. People who have never been to, or never likely to set foot in Germany, Argentina, Italy or Brazil (especially, Brazil!) get all excited about ‘their’ teams, wear and fly the colors of ‘their’ countries, and engage each other in those long conversations - sometimes even fistfights - that can pale even the cricketing passions of Pakistan. (By the way, at least in the 1990s, Pele used to be the undisputed King of Lyari).


This video of Express TV gives a glimpse, although just a small glimpse, of Lyari’s passion for football:

This report from Dawn gives a sense of the tension between Lyari’s violence and its football passions:

Exactly a week ago, the seven family members of Mohammad Sulaiman became virtual hostages in their Eidu Lane apartment when outside trigger-happy rival gangs fought pitched battles, occasionally using mortar shells for good measure. The weeklong deadly episode of the long-running Lyari gang warfare claimed over a dozen lives, but on Thursday Sulaiman, like his neighbours, was ready to become part of the month-long festivities that kicked off in the area with the opening of the football world cup by the Rainbow Nation.

… “The walls of my apartment building are still pock-marked with bullet holes left in the wake of the weeklong gunfight,” he says. “You see, Lyari is extremely resilient. Loss of lives is certainly unfortunate. But those who are alive insist on having their right to normal lives. And football for them is a way of life.” Lyari may lately have been ravaged by gang warfare, but every four years the football world cup reignites the passion of the town — which still has 116 registered soccer clubs — for football.

It was once home to all the national team members that beat Turkey and Iran in the 1966 world cup qualifying matches. Ali Nawaz Baloch, the former captain of the Pakistan national team who rose to fame from the streets of Lyari, believes poverty, lack of political will and growing negligence by the administration have turned the town of football lovers into a stronghold of armed gangs. “It’s a town of the poor who have barely a few things to be cheerful about. Football is one of them. Indeed, it tops the list,” says Mr Baloch, who was honoured with the President’s Pride of Performance Award in 1995 for his services to the national football team in the 1970s. “The standard of football played by us started to deteriorate after the fall of Dhaka in 1971. Things have not looked up since then, both for football and for the town.”

More in this report from Express Tribune:

Pakistan may not be participating in the Football World Cup but the craze for the biggest sporting event is at an all-time high with fans gearing up to cheer every moment of it… Fans in Lyari are eager to see the 32 teams eye the prestigious glory – being crowned FIFA world champions. The gang war that grips the area is not a hurdle as they chalk out plans to enjoy the extravaganza.“The security situation in the area is not a concern for these fans,” said Yaqoob Baloch, a football organizer. “They’ve already bought flags and posters of their favorite teams and you’ll see kids having memorized the schedule.”

Baloch added that locals are also planning to install large screens in a few areas including the Navaline Eagle Chowk and the Lyari Town Office near the South Football House. Former Pakistan captain Zafar Iqbal said that majority of the fans are supporting Brazil and cheering Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Spain and England also find some support among the fans. He added that all the 75 clubs of the area have arranged TV sets to watch the matches. Hasan Baloch, the coach of the Pakistan Under-14 team that secured the second position in AFC Football Festival in Iran, said fans have waited for four years for the event.

“All the fans are prepared to enjoy something they have waited for four years and they are very excited about it,” said Baloch who is a Lyari resident as well. In Malir, the eastern town of the city, players’ posters are in high-demand and flags of different participating countries have already been hoisted by enthusiasts on their roof-tops. Brazil is also the favourite team for Malir fans as well and screens are being installed there too for the later stages of the World Cup. “There are hardcore fans in Malir. They are football fanatics to the point you can witness clashes among fans during their teams’ matches,” said one fan Sanaullah Asif.

I hope this will be a good World Cup for Lyari. That will happen if the sport can give some respite from violence to this beautiful but violence drenched community.

Note:- The flag being raised by the guy in the first picture is one of the Baloch Nationalist flags. Depressing

 

[sparklingway]

Two documentaries on football in Lyari were made in the past couple of years namely "An Early Sunset" and "The Last Refuge of Afghans". If anybody can find them online, please them post.

 

[Nahraf]

Lyari is one of the poor township in Karachi and is settled mostly by Balochs and Sindhis. It has always supported PPP while most of Karachi supports MQM. Lyari always played Football while rest of Karachi played Cricket. May be Karachi should give up expensive and time consuming game of our former colonial masters and join Lyrari and rest of the world and play Football. Cricket has even lost its popular appeal in England and Football rules. While the Kangrez (Kala Angrez i.e. Black Englishmen) still slavishly play their former masters game.

 

[sparklingway]

Lyari is one of the poor township in Karachi and is settled mostly by Balochs and Sindhis. It has always supported PPP while most of Karachi supports MQM. Lyari always played Football while rest of Karachi played Cricket. May be Karachi should give up expensive and time consuming game of our former colonial masters and join Lyrari and rest of the world and play Football. Cricket has even lost its popular appeal in England and Football rules. While the Kangrez (Kala Angrez i.e. Black Englishmen) still slavishly play their former masters game.

That shouldn't be the case. I despise football but respect that the entire world watches it. I love cricket on the other hand. It's just personal choices, of course influenced by social factors. Our gali-cricket is far less destructive than gali-football and because football even in its most basic forms requires a path of free land (an empty plot), it becomes nearly impossible for people to play football in impoverished areas. Lack of state or corporate sponsorship of football as compared to cricket is perhaps a very big factor. Cricketers are heroes sometimes demi-gods in Pakistan.

Hardly, anyone known the great Abdul Ghafoor or today's star Muhammad Essa.

Even though I despise football, sporting events have become a rarity in Pakistan, especially Pindi. I remember the last big sporting event I attended was the Olympic Games qualifier (2nd rnd) match against Qatar. Reaching Jinnah Stadium, I stopped for a person who was signaling for a ride and it turned out that he had arrived from Sialkot to watch the match and had jumped off at the wrong bus stop and had been walking for a couple of miles.

 

[Nahraf]

That shouldn't be the case. I despise football but respect that the entire world watches it.

Cricket is a lost cause sooner the people realise the better for them. Cricket is very expensive game and you need lot of equipment. It was played in cool England while Britannia ruled the empire where the sun never set and they were flushed with money. Pakistan is a hot country and nobody should stand in the sun whole day. You only enjoy the game when you are batting or bowling rest of the time you stand in the field or sit on the bench. In Football, all the players run most of the time and the game is over within 90 minutes.

 

[sparklingway]

Why I love the Lyariite footballers over the EPL-fade crazy elites

1. They don't speak English in a fake accent
2. They don't have the money to buy EPL shirts, and
3. They don't have the money to buy fancy football shoes and spikes, and
4. They don't fake football craze to be accepted into a social circle, yet
5. They are good at it and don't play it like sissies

 

[sparklingway]

Our mini Brazil
The kids of Lyari were presumed to be 'born footballers'. But with a dismal lack of infrastructure and professional coaching, they can't expect to have a bright future in the game​

By Alam Zeb Safi

Lyari is one of the smallest and most densely populated towns of Karachi, with a population of over one million. It is also called "Mini Brazil" because of the immense footballing talent found here.

First, a word about how Lyari acquired the (unofficial) status of being the hub of football in Pakistan. Before and after the partition of the sub-continent, fishing and offloading Greek and other European ships in a nearby river were the only means of subsistence for the people of Lyari. When foreign ships, particularly in between the two world wars, carrying food and other items, stopped over at the port, it usually took them more time to offload as there were no facilities which we find today. The crew members, who also happened to be footballers, would then ask the locals to organise matches in order that the foreigners could kill time. Railways Football Ground, Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), Sindh Madrassa, Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Polo Ground became the hottest venues of those historic encounters in which mostly the teams from Lyari would win with a high margin despite playing barefoot because of poverty.

As the word about the skill of the footballers of Lyari went out to foreign shores, it enticed nations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, China, Japan, Russia and Turkey to visit Pakistan.

Interestingly, in 1964, Turkey visited the town and was losing 4-0 at half time against Karachi Division but, according to eyewitnesses, the match was abandoned and the result was 'fixed' to 4-4 on the request of the visitors in order to prevent them from the humiliation of defeat.

The inflow of foreigners also encouraged local financial institutions to recruit more players from Lyari and there came a time when there were around two dozen departmental football teams in Karachi. Lyari-based clubs including Pak Mughal, Keamari Union and Karachi Kickers also visited India. Lyari remained the sole stuff-provider to the Pakistan national team during that time. Legendary footballers including captain Muhammad Umar, Hussain Killer, Abdul Ghani Senior, Turab Ali, Ali Nawaz Baloch, late Abdullah Akber, Ismail Rosho, Altaf Ismail, Ustad Deen Muhammad, Ustad Dad Muhammad and Lal Muhammad came from Lyari.

But as time progressed, and particularly after the fall of Dhaka, which was the centre of professional football, the smooth flow of the game in Pakistan and particularly in this part of the city started to take a turn with major departments supporting their football teams which reduced the chances for future footballers of Lyari. "Around 20 to 25 players from Pakistan used to play professional league in Dhaka in which 15 to 18 came from Lyari. The women of Lyari would wish their children to play football as by doing so they could go to Dhaka and earn money. But after Dhaka was severed from Pakistan and departments supported their teams, the situation worsened for football," says legendary striker Ali Nawaz.

Close to the site which is now People's Stadium, there was a big ground in Lyari called 'Ganji Ground' in which hundreds of footballers would practice their skills in the evening. But ironically, after People's Stadium was erected, the common footballers of the town were left with no option but to play in the streets and whatever rough patches of ground they would find, as the Stadium was used for tournaments only -- mostly of national and international levels.

The current decade has not been too good for football in Lyari which is home to some 116 sports clubs. "The area is teeming with talent but it is being criminally neglected," says Nasir Karim, a renowned social worker and football official.

These days Lyari attracts headlines for all the wrong reasons -- war among the various local gangs, which is crippling its economy, social structure and the game of the masses. "FIFA World Cup has not brought us any good news this time over. Most people who were our proud footballers have turned criminals and are taking each other's lives," says a local.

However, in areas where the law and order situation is slightly better, the residents have a whale of a time enjoying the World Cup matches on their TV screens.

The kids of Lyari are considered to be 'born footballers' as they inherit technique and skill from their elders. But sadly, the authorities are loath to provide them with proper infrastructure, professional coaching and academies. It would happen only if a serious initiative is taken by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) to organise football in the area.

 

[forcetrip]

Lyari is one of the poor township in Karachi and is settled mostly by Balochs and Sindhis. It has always supported PPP while most of Karachi supports MQM. Lyari always played Football while rest of Karachi played Cricket. May be Karachi should give up expensive and time consuming game of our former colonial masters and join Lyrari and rest of the world and play Football. Cricket has even lost its popular appeal in England and Football rules. While the Kangrez (Kala Angrez i.e. Black Englishmen) still slavishly play their former masters game.

It will definitely disappear like hockey if we keep getting our ***** handed to us. We as a country have always believed "Why fix something when its easier to get something new to break". Politicians excluded.

 

[jha]

"Why fix something when its easier to get something new to break". Politicians excluded.

statement of the week sir..

 

[ice_man]

VERY DEPRESSINGGGGGGG!! why can't we encourage these people & provide adequate resources for them??

world does diplomacy through football! football connects nations!!

& we WASTE our natural great talent!!! this is the case of pakistan in everything natural wealth,talent & resources as well as heritage is ignored!!!


WE MADE A COUNTRY BUT WE NEVER BECAME A NATION!! we are careless and negligent in everything!!!! football & liyari is just another symbol of our failures!!

 

[Frankenstein]

I can also do football freestyle and stuff like that but when i played real Football in Jinnah stadium Islamabad, then i understood where i stand , I was effed before Half time

I think GoP shud encourage these football thirsty kids, they shud have football grounds after every atleast 3 km area like in Islamabad, I have seen many Baluchi, Gilgiti, African Pakistanis and obviously Pathans play, they have great stamina and skills just need some coaching, the only problem is football dont have much funds

 

[forcetrip]

Our football team disappeared in Japan one time. I have played with Balochis back in the day. I still remember that guy taking a corner kick with a cigarette in his mouth. Even in their disorganized style of play, you could not outrun, out tackle or get that goalie to make a mistake.

 

[pak-marine]

i have seen the BB stadium unfortunatly its now occupied by rangers for so called security i have met some liyariates and my guess is they are far more talented then western or african black community call it footbal or music. This guy i knew use to play a full song and i am not kidding it was with lyrics + base and the desi stereo + the dance , Their footi is amazing i was really impresed by the tricks the local mohala guys performed. Their is unlimited potential but like always they are used in a extreme un-productive ways.

Hope things get better soon and we see our liyarites playing the next fifa

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Young footballer becoming role model for Lyari boys | Sport | DAWN.COM

KARACHI: Fifteen-year-old Munir Aftab, captain of the triumphant Pakistan under-16 football team that recently returned home after lifting the inaugural South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-16 Football Championship title in Nepal, is a living example of motivating the youth to stay away from drugs and gang warfare through healthy activity.

The young defender has been playing football in the narrow winding streets of Karachi’s Lyari since the age of five. Lyari that is known as the hub of football in Pakistan has also been the source of major city unrests and disturbances due to the involvement of its youth in drugs and firearms.

But Munir’s story is different from many of his peers. “I loved watching my father and brothers play football and started playing myself when I was just a child,” he says.

It was around the time Munir was just learning to enjoy the game loved so much by his family that the bright playing career of his eldest brother, some 10 years older than him, ended even before it could properly begin.

In 2000, both of his mother’s kidneys stopped functioning and Allah Bux, the eldest son, gave her his kidney in order to save her life. Today he is a manual worker in a Balochi block print atelier.

Munir’s other brother, who also played football at the club level, works as a labourer at the cranes at the shipyard while their father is a rickshaw driver. Poverty has been one of the main causes behind Lyari’s immense footballing talent getting lost on its way to acclaim.

Munir’s father and brothers aren’t the first ones here to have given up their dreams. But they have vowed not to let anything come in the way of Munir’s playing career.

“My father has always told me to play and not to worry about anything else. He has faith in my game. I am so happy to be able to make a name for myself in football and make my family proud of me,” he says.

That’s how he got to attend regular school and is now just waiting for his result of matriculation exam. “In school, too, our sports teacher encouraged all us kids to excel in football, our heritage. He even coached us outside school during our Saturday matches at Lyari’s uneven grounds,” he says.

Studying and playing took all of Munir’s time as he went from strength to strength on the field. Not one to give up easily, the boy appeared for the Sindh U-13 open trials after failing to get selected for the Karachi team on first try. Making it to the Sindh U-13 team, he got noticed at the national level when the team featured in the national U-13 tournament in Lahore in 2009.

That same year he was made captain of the Pakistan U-13 team that ended up fourth in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-13 Festival of Football in Iran.

And as captain of the Pakistan U-14 football team he helped his side bag the silver medal at AFC U-14 Festival of Football in Iran in 2010. Now he has led the Pakistan U-16 side to win the SAFF U-16 Football Championship by beating none other than archrivals India in the final.

Munir, who also plays for the Karachi Port Trust youth team, gets a Rs 6,000 monthly scholarship from his department.

“My friends often worry about getting a job but I was lucky to get picked by the KPT some eight months ago. The monthly stipend I receive from them is very helpful in my remaining on a regular diet at home even though it is simple daal roti and vegetables. I also intend to pursue my studies,” says the youth who is fast becoming a role model for the other disillusioned boys of his community being urged to learn some crafts that can help them earn a livelihood instead of chasing after their dreams.

 

[pak-marine]

^^ Great Move , i dont see any pakistani afros in the team ... wait till they join those kids are fire , i have seen their tricks with footi , amazing stuff i tell you . We can compare them to those rio kids , these liyari boys are the toughest of all