Karachi:Sindh Football Association (SFA) Secretary Riaz Ahmed has said that footballers may be the least affected sportspersons in Pakistan economically since very few of them are dependent on income, which come from playing football.
“There are approximately 700 registered clubs in Sindh and all of the footballers playing in those clubs have to contribute for conveyance, equipment and ground fee etc to play football. Most of the footballers are playing out of the love for the game,” Riaz Ahmed told PPI.
Riaz Ahmed further said that in spite of the fact that football is the most played sport in the country, it is rarely supported by the sponsors, government or private departments.
Recently, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that it will not be giving NOC for Ramadan tournaments this year due to coronavirus threat. Many cricketers come from across the country to Karachi to play in cricket tournaments in Ramadan and also earn well.
According to an estimate, more than 100 tournaments are organized and over 2000 cricketers are involved in cricket activities during Ramadan. One cricketer can represent different teams in different tournaments. However, they will not be having the opportunity to play and earn this year in Ramadan.
But from economic perspective, footballers may not be suffering financially because of lack of sports activities in unusual times due to coronavirus pandemic. Most of them don’t even have any kind of earning from football, the most played game around the world.