The gods of football are very kind to Sialkot - Pakistan’s 5000-year-old city. Not only are football players kicking around Telstar footballs that are made in Sialkot, which manufactures 60 percent of the world's footballs, just recently a 15-year-old boy from Sialkot was selected to do the toss at the 22 June FIFA World Cup match between Brazil and Costa Rica.
Ahmad Raza, a grade 9 student, was flown all the way from Sialkot to Moscow by an international beverage company in Pakistan after he made it through the selection process. In an exclusive talk with SBS Urdu, Ahmad said that not only it was his first time traveling out of Pakistan; he had never sat in a plane before. This, he said, was an experience of a lifetime.
“I kept thinking about everyone who must be watching me on live TV at that time. All my life I had watched these matches online or on TV, but today, I was present right there.”
“I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was inside such a big ground, representing my country and surrounded by some of the world’s best and biggest names in football.”
Though Ahmad is a Neymar, Ronaldo and Carlos fan; it is Neymar that he considers his ultimate hero.
“I really wanted to meet him and I couldn’t believe he was standing right next to me. I felt elated and so proud of myself for making it there, next to such a big player.”
For Ahmad, this was beyond imaginations; more like a dream come true.
Ahmad told SBS Urdu how the beverage team visited his school to select one student, who would receive an all funded round trip to Moscow to do the toss for a match. It was, however, a competitive process. In the first phase, Ahmad said, eight students were selected and trials were held, from which half were disqualified. The four who made it to the next round went through the same process until only two were left – him and another student. They were then taken to Lahore and tried for one last time.
Ahmad may have already lived this experience, but talking about it still brings the same thrills that he felt the first time he was called to come out and toss the coin. As he shared his feelings with SBS Urdu, his voice cheered up and he couldn’t help but smile.
“One day, I want to play football for Pakistan.”
“I kept thinking about everyone who must be watching me on live TV at that time. Friends and family back in Pakistan. All my life I had watched these matches online or on TV, but today, I was there – physically present at such a big event.”
Source: SBS
He was especially ecstatic to be at a match where Brazil was playing, but like a typical 15-year-old, Ahmad was quick to change his favorite team to Belgium after Brazil’s big loss to Costa Rica.
Ahmad plays for his school football team, and just recently his passion for the sport took him to a private football club in the city that organizes local city and provincial level matches. He now also plays for them.
Ahmad’s grandfather and father have been in the football-manufacturing industry in Sialkot for decades, but he says he has always been more interested in playing than making footballs.
With a memory that can never be replaced, Ahmad is now back at his hometown with countless selfies with his favorite players and around the city.
“One day, I want to play football for Pakistan,” Ahmad said.
This may sound like a dream for a young boy from a small city in Pakistan, but dreams do come true, and they already have, for Ahmad.
Source: SBS
(To listen to Ahmad Raza talking to SBS Urdu about his tour, click on the podcast play button on top of the page.)
