Football; the not-so-national sport in Islamabad

Traditionally, whenever we use the term "match" or "game" in pakistan, it is immediately assumed we're talking about cricket. However, due to the consistency of our wonderful cricket team and the development of an innovative idea in Islamabad, these are no longer so clear.

Islamabad is a small city to say the least. if you cut out the traffic i can drive from one end of it to the other in less than 20 minutes, wait, minus the speed cameras as well. since our childhood we've seen and played at several cricket grounds. unfortunately for us, just when we hit our mid to late twenties islamabad became host to the first 7-on-7 night football ground in the country. situated beautifully in the center of this city, the ground not only had proper lines and floodlights but also turf (not grass) to play on. as a visiting friend of mine from the massive city of karachi aptly said 'you said this was a ground; it looks like a stadium!'

As a major in marketing, i always quickly jump to the business implications but before that, let me tell you how it works. you have two options, you can either register your team for a monthly subscription that allows you to play a certain number of games a week or you can call a certain mr ali (never seen him) and get the ground booked for 90 minute slot. you pay PKR 2500 ($ 31) which comes to around $2 per person. quite affordable for people who generally play 4-6 times a month. as for the ground, it is prudent to assume they book 6 slots atleast on weekdays and 8 on weekends making it a sustainable business unit.

Looking more closely at the complimentary businesses i'll narrate a little story. when we started playing here, more than a year ago, i went to the local Nike store to buy soccer shoes (kicks, spikes, toes whatever you'd like to call them). when i asked for a certain size in a certain design i was told that they were "all out" of that size. sharing his disbelief with me, the salesman told me that in the recent months their sales of football shoes had sky-rocketed. previously, they couldnt sell soccer shoes regularly because the game was not commonly played. hmmm, 14 players into 46 playing slots per week; thats 644 pairs of shoes at the introduction stage of the product life cycle for the islamabad 7-on-7 football "stadium".

As a writer, i cannot help but look at the social implications as well. i believe that competitive sports are a great way to not only build friendship but also teams. almost every second weekend i argue endlessly with mr ali because some corporate entity or another has booked the ground for a "tournament". even i've had the privalge of being relegated from the second round of the Energile Premier League (EPL). another, more reflective post on this blog that i'm working on will correctly narrate the feelings associated with playing such a sport at our basic level but for now i can tell you that the screams on the field, the directions during the game, the breaks and the cross's, the through balls and the step-overs; it gives you a rush that we, at our age, have long forgotten.

The colors and the international team alliances are also quite interesting to see. its not surprising to find Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona fans but the best sight is seeing Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Turkey, Portugal, England shirts around the field signifying a greater depth and understanding of the game itself rather than just following the crowd. i myself have started building up a collection of football kits.

i recently quit cricket; watching and playing. the former being more obvious, the latter because the general practice here is, you find another team of 11 players. you gather your own team of 11 players. you book a ground. you buy equipment (always, because you seem to misplace or lose it). you get up at 8 in the morning on a sunday, you fight over every little decision on the game. you end the match at something like 4 in the evening with ample space for cheating. no thank you, id rather book the ground, start play and end in 90 minutes screaming like a child every time there is a foul!

My friends in the much more developed cities of Lahore and Karachi listen with envy when i narrate a game to them. much to my delight, ive heard islamabad is building another similar football "stadium". it makes me proud to say this, but despite all that negative trauma that our country is generally associated with, its a great feeling to see how a simple idea has collectively channelled our emotions towards the positive.

despite the red zones, high alerts and car checking, i need to get home early today because i have a match at 9...i wonder, should i wear AC Milan, United or Barcelona?

K. Yousaf

Innovation Journalism