TaalGoal A Football Tournament for Underprivileged Children
Fazle Rabbi Khan
Underprivileged children,k who are mostly isolated from mainstream society, are the most vulnerable inhabitants of the city. To give them an opportunity to cross the invisible line that separates them from other citizens, a football tournament was organised for them in the capital on Friday.
The daylong event, TaalGoal, featured 16 teams with 128 underprivileged children, both boys and girls aged 10-14, from Geneva Camp, Rayerbazar, Abdullahpur, Notunbazar, Karail and Kamrangirchar areas.
The tournament was arranged by the Dhaka Hub of Global Shapers Community at the National Handball Stadium in Motijheel.
Of the participating teams, 12 were boys teams while four were girls. Among the girls, Red Hunter became champions, beating runner-up Phoenix 3-2 in an exciting tiebreaker. Rubina Akhter of the winning team was adjudged the best player.
From the boys side, Jagroto 8 became the champions, beating Natunbazar 1. Hasan from the runner-up team bagged the best player trophy. Both the girls and boys winners and runners-up teams received trophies for their achievement, while all the other players got medals. They were all provided with jerseys and refreshments.
Vice-president of Bangladesh Football Federation Badal Roy, sports commentator Chowdhury Zafarullah Sharafat, British High Commissioner Robert Gibson and Deputy High Commissioner Mark Clayton were guests at the event.
More people today would be able to identify Maradona than the president of Argentina, and this legendary footballer was once an underprivileged child. This shows the need to create such opportunities for the underprivileged children of Bangladesh, Sharafat said at the prize-giving ceremony.
The Global Shapers Community is a network of hubs led by young people who are exceptional in their drive to make a contribution to their communities. It is an initiative of the World Economic Forum and has various shapers communities in cities across the world.
This is the first football tournament for underprivileged children held by the Dhaka Shapers. Through this event, we aimed to promote an inclusive society where no child is denied the basic right to recreation, such as sports, regardless of their background and social status, said Sohara Mehroze Shachi, communication coordinator of Global Shapers Community.
