School sports festival hailed as huge success

DUBAI // A sports competition between pupils from Pakistan and the UAE has been hailed as a success by those who took part.

More than 1,000 pupils participated in the first Foundation Public Schools Sports Festival this week, competing in football, basketball, table tennis and throwball competitions.

“It is the first time for many of us in the UAE and so far it has been a wonderful experience for all of us,” said Mahvash Roshani, the principal of Dawood Public School for girls in Karachi, which had a team of eight pupils taking part in the throwball tournament.

“Not only is it good for the girls to play against teams from schools in the UAE, but this festival is also a great way for them to make new friends and meet children their own age.”

The festival featured three schools from Pakistan and about 12 from the UAE made up of Indian, Pakistani and government schools.

“Sport is a fantastic way to bring people from different backgrounds together and I hope this festival can go from strength to strength,” Ms Roshani said.

Aveer Siddiqui, 14, captain of the Dawood throwball team, said it had been a special experience.

“We’ve made a lot of friends from meeting pupils from other schools,” Aveer said.

“Although we have been taking part in matches, they have all been very friendly and it has been nice to talk and learn more about their background and culture, especially the Arab pupils.”

Misbah Adnan, 14, also a throwball player, said she was looking forward to seeing more of the UAE after the festival.

“We’ve been to some of the malls and Burj Khalifa, but before we go back home they are going to take us on a desert safari and Wild Wadi,” Misbah said.

“We’ve all really enjoyed our time here and if they do the event next year, we would love to take part again.”

Fahad Agha, the manager of sports for the Head Start School System in Karachi, said the trip had been a wonderful experience for the pupils.

“We brought three teams here for the football competition and it has been a great learning experience for the boys,” Mr Agha said.

“They really enjoyed the matches with the Indian, Arab and other Pakistani schools.”

The festival has been a fixture in Karachi for 15 years, with dozens of schools taking part. Organisers hope to make it an annual event in Dubai, with more schools competing.

Waqqam Murtuza, 14, a pupil at Head Start School System, took part in the football competition at the Institute of Applied Technology in Al Qusais.

“It has been a very tough competition so far, because we are playing against teams who are slightly older than us and they are very good,” Waqqam said.

His team lost both opening games but they enjoyed the experience of coming to Dubai.

“We have learnt a lot from playing the other teams and that has set the standard that we are looking to achieve,” Waqqam said.

For his teammate Shahwaiz Sami, 15, it was an eye-opening first visit to the emirate.

“The competition is a real platform for us to develop as players and gain experience – not just of playing football but meeting new people,” Shahwaiz said.

“We don’t get such chances back in Pakistan so this has been a lot of fun.”

The five-day event concluded this weekend and was organised by Foundation Public Schools, the Pakistan Association Dubai and Ministry of Education’s UAE Interschool Sports Association.

It is part of the Pakistani association’s Solidarity Celebrations to mark National Day.