Karachi United Football Foundation took the cup at KE KHI Awards
Sports in Pakistan is played more as a cultural activity rather than a competitive one. Cricket is by far the most popular sport in the country, but other games such as hockey, squash, tennis, table tennis and polo also have been immensely popular in their day. Football, however, has never come even close to replicating the same level of success that it enjoys globally, in Pakistan. This is surprising considering the amount of interest and the number of followers there are in Karachi, especially in its underprivileged areas.
Karachi United Football Foundation Trust, tries to fill this void by creating opportunities for youth that want to make a future in this sport. What is even more special about them is that they do most of their work in those parts if the city where most leading sports and leisure organizations won’t even venture. Which makes it even more befitting that they were the sole winner in the Sports category at the inaugural KE KHI Awards. The awards were organized by the sole electricity provider to Karachi, K-Electric, on April 3, 2021 to celebrate 34 winners across 13 categories. All of them represented Karachi’s untiring and innovative organizations that make sure the city stays up and running.
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail sent a video message lauding the winners and commending KE for acknowledging their efforts, “The participants and winners of these awards are an integral part of the state, as they support the government in its efforts to help the people of the city across a number of different fields including education, public health, and sustainability. I appreciate KE’s step to recognize the efforts of these NGOs and I am sure that it will be a catalyst towards bigger plans. The process was conducted with utmost transparency and impartiality, and all organizations were evaluated on their performance alone.”
One of the 140 entries submitted was Karachi United Football Foundation. The foundation promotes football at the grass-root level and aims to achieve football excellence in the country via community development as well. The foundation has gained immense popularity for its national and international level playing teams that comprise men’s, ladies and youth football teams. The foundation also provides free football coaching to the underprivileged and aims to hold funded championships that can sponsor skilled and deserving players.
Ali Ata, Director Development of Karachi United said, “Our main aim is to create a community of football lovers that hail from the cities or slums and improve the quality of football in Pakistan. The recognition received by KE KHI Awards is very important in motivating us to keep going forward. Football is a poor man’s sport that works with teamwork and collaboration. Karachi is a melting pot city and this kind of collaboration can only spread love and harmony.”
The Karachi Uunited Centers of Excellence (CoEs) aim to delve deep within Pakistan’s neglected communities to seek out and develop talented young footballers while providing them with education, employment, health awareness, and most importantly, hope. The founders of Karachi United believe that via centres of excellence social boundaries can be learned with football. Along with the well-deserved recognition, Karachi United Football Foundation, like the 33 other winners, won a monetary benefit in the form of an electricity bill rebate, ranging from PKR 250,000 to 5 Million.
CEO K-Electric, Moonis Alvi also spoke at the occasion, noting the purpose of these awards. “KE is excited to bring the inaugural edition of the KHI Awards. Our relationship with the city extends over 107 years, and we are embedded in the fabric of Karachi,” he said. “It is heartening to see so many competent and passionate organizations working at the forefront to uplift the city. These awards are KE’s humble effort to acknowledge their dedication and are proud to extend our support in their ongoing efforts. KE is also grateful to the jury members who volunteered their time and expertise, as well as our audit partners who ensured credibility and transparency in the evaluating process.”
All entries were vetted by an independent panel of jurists headed by Saad Amanullah Khan, founder of #IAMKARACHI. Speaking about this whole process and the selection of winners, Saad Amanullah Khan said, “We had an overwhelming number of entries to choose from for our first edition. The winners have been instrumental in making a tremendous impact on the city, and their total asset base stands at over PKR 54 billion, which is the welfare investment these organizations are making to drive progress in Pakistan and its largest metropolitan city. KE’s decision to honor these organizations and empower them on their journey is commendable.”
Most of the ones that ended up being shortlisted were those that excelled in the impact of their projects, on the quality of their execution and for sticking to allocated budgets and timelines. This process also put a lot of weightage on the adoption of best practices in urban innovation and the use of technology and mobile solutions.
The final list of winners is as follows:
Digital Accessibility & Financial Inclusion
doctHERs
Education
Idara e Taleem o Aagahi
Orange Tree Foundation
Institute of Business Administration Karachi
Developments in Literacy
Empowering Women
Kiran Foundation
The Citizens Foundation (TCF)
Behbud Association Karachi
Heritage & Culture
National Academy of Performing Arts
Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi
Tehzeeb Foundation of Pakistan
Inclusion
Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre
Family Educational Services Foundation (FESF)
Hands
Livelihoods & Vocational Training
The Hunar Foundation
Who is Hussain? Foundation
Karachi Vocational Training Center
New Organisations (less than 12 months old)
Pakistan Legal United Society (PLUS – Legal Aid)
Pink Pakistan Trust
Public Health
Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN)
Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust (LRBT)
ChildLife Foundation
Fatimid Foundation
Lady Dufferin Hospital
Bait ul Sukoon Cancer Hospital
Safety (Road, Fire, Home, Personal)
Pakistan Life Saving Foundation (PALS Rescue)
Citizens Police liaison committee (CPLC) Sindh
Social Service
Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation
AMTF Helping Blood Disorder Program
Roshni Research & Development Welfare Organization
Panah Trust (Panah Shelter Home)
Sports
Karachi United Football Foundation Trust
Sustainability & Environment
NED University of Engineering and Technology
Uplifting Communities
INFAQ Foundation
Cover image via: K-Electric
This post is a Press Release by K-Electric