Italian AC Milan partners with G-B Yasin Valley’s girls football club

Gilgit: In a landmark development, Italian Football club AC Milan’s charity organization Fondazione Milan has announced its support for Yasin Valley’s girls football club under  “A Goal to Dream” project that will contribute to the establishment of a new sports and community space for over 50 girls in the Yasin Valley — a remote tehsil of Ghizer district in Gilgit-Baltistan

The Islamabad-based football academy PPG Sports, Milan-based sports organization AL2 Sport, and Milan-based educational agency L’ORMA are promoting the project.

“The project will bring about the construction of a new sports and community space, a safe and inclusive environment where the girls can practice sports and access a whole series of other educational activities,” reads a statement issued by Fondazione Milan.

The Rossoneri charity said that the project would also provide a home for tournaments and other events aimed at promoting awareness about gender equality and female empowerment in sports.

The kick-off event for the project was held at Casa della Memoria in Milano, with a screening of the documentary of the same name, “A Goal to Dream.” The film recounts the daily lives of a group of girls in Yasin Valley who must face a system rife with prejudice day after day, limiting their freedom in sports and in society.

According to the statement, representatives from Fondazione Milan, L’ORMA and AL2Sport, AC Milan Women’s First Team player Giulia Semplici also participated in the event.

 “We are excited to extend our commitment to women’s empowerment through the project ‘A Goal to Dream,’ giving more than 50 girls the opportunity to dream big. This initiative testifies once again how sport can transcend the limits of the playing field and make a real impact in people’s lives, contributing to a real cultural change,” the statement quoted Foundation Milan General Secretary Rocco Giorgianni as saying.

Paolo Menescardi, Administrator of L’ORMA, and Luca Amadessi, co-founder of AL2Sport, said: “We want to give the girls from the Yasin Valley a voice; they are fighting with passion every day and making sacrifices to be able to play football in northern Pakistan. Sport is capable of enacting social change, and, thanks to the invaluable contribution of Fondazione Milan, we want to guarantee support for the girls to make their dreams a reality, no matter how far off they may seem”.

While talking to Hum News English, Brooshal Sports Academy Founder Aslam Inqlabi expressed his excitement, saying his dream would come true. He said the initiative would help not only help Yasin Valley girls but would support girls throughout Gilgit-Baltistan. Inqlabi, who has donated his land for the club for free, thanked all the supporters, especially Fondazione Milan and PPG Sports.

Brooshal Sports Academy coach and co-founder Azad Wali Khan said that the aim behind establishing the club was countering the rising suicide cases of girls in the valley. He claimed after the inception of the club, not a single suicide case was reported in the valley. Initially, he said, the academy was started with few girls and now has over 360 girls.

Khan revealed that the club faced criticism and threats from the society and local administration. “However, they admire our initiative now,” he added. He said 12 players from poor backgrounds got admission to various universities in Lahore on a sports scholarship. The coach said they were not charging any fee from the players for training.

Tanveer Abbas