Community

Karachi United

Formed in 1996, Karachi United is regarded as one of the most prominent clubs in Pakistani football. The club went professional in 2013 and secured their promotion to the Pakistan Premier League in October 2020, after claiming second place in the 2020 PFF League.

Youth team

As of 2021, the club has established 12 community centers in Karachi, catering to over 1,000 children, including 200 girls. These centers offer free football coaching to kids from underprivileged backgrounds and provide educational and health assistance. The club also employs a dedicated team of full-time staff, including a community administrator, program manager, fundraising manager, brand manager, academy manager, social media manager, and approximately 150 coaches.

The majority of fundraising for these centers is done through the pay to play facilities that the club has organized. However, there are other ways such as events, newsletters and social media, that the club uses to promote their project in order to raise funds.

My Invovlement

  • Connecting

  • Fundraising

Connecting

  • Over the years, Karachi United's youth teams have visited Qatar, the country I live in, a total of three times. Being part of the club, I went to meet and support the teams all three times.

  • March 2019

    KU’s under-12 and under-11 teams visited the country to play in a four-match bilateral series against Aspire Academy. I went to watch and support every game as they ended up winning with both teams. After the series ended, my family and I met up with the coaches and players to speak about their experience in the country and the trip overall.

  • November 2019

    In November, the same teams were invited by Aspire academy to participate in a tri-series football tournament. They once again managed to claim victory by beating both Aspire and the Turkish side Fenerbahce. After the tournament came to an end, we handed out goodie bags with chocolates, shirts, school utensils and other snacks to the KU players. Coming from a poor background, these kids greatly appreciated the gesture.

  • March 2023

    After the pandemic ended, Karachi United were able to travel again. They came to play another 3-match friendly, but this time the also visited the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium where they watched Al Sadd in the Emir Cup. My family, friends and I were able to once again set up some gifts for the plyaers to take home. Since the world cup had recently ended, we bought fifa inspired merch such as shirts, watter bottles bags, hats and footballs, along with snacks too.

Visiting the club

In January of 2020, my dad and I visited Karachi to get a deeper understanding of how the Karachi united system works. The founders of the club invited us to visit the their facilities. We were taken around on a tour and were able to see all the training grounds and Match-day pitches that both the youth academies and first team used. Afterwards, one of the coaches asked me if I wanted to play in a friendly game with one of the youth teams, as he knew I played football as well. The kindness and humbleness of the players and the coaches was truly showcased during my visit. Being able to see with my own eyes, the places that these children come from, and how they live there life was incredibly motivating and made me realize not only how football can help families in impoverished areas but also how I can contribute to aiding these players journeys.

Fundraising

After chatting, messaging and going on zoom calls with multiple members of the Karachi United team, we discussed ways to help give exposure to the club outside of Pakistan. The aim was to help raise money, so we could be a part of the journey towards success for these unprivileged footballers.

Newsletters

In Karachi, the club members send out newsletters through email to promote the club. I used this same idea and brought it to the country I live in, Qatar, and also to England, where a lot of my family live. The idea was to raise funds by giving a summary of what the club is and how they run. By doing so, we hoped that people would be intrigued by the project and would donate to help the company keep things running.

To further promote the club, I set up zoom meetings with friends, colleagues, and mutuals, where I presented them with information about KU and shared the stories of some of the players in the youth teams. I also informed them about how they would be able to help, by referring them to fundraising websites and sharing contacts if they wanted to reach out privately.

Presentations

Charity Event

A great way to promote the club was to set up a football event where all the money would be donated towards Karachi United. This was a 4 team tournament, where every team had to pay 80 Qatari riyals in order to participate. During the event, I gave a small speech to inform the teams about the cause that they were playing for and what prizes they would win. Prior to the event, I had gotten in contact with the KU team, and they had agreed to send some merchandise, such as footballs and t-shirts, which the winning teams would be able to take home.

Summary

Being able to part of this incredible project that the Karachi United team have created has shown a side to the game that I feel everyone should see. My meetings with the team and visit to their facilities gave a deeper understanding to how humble and hardworking these coaches and players truly are. Helping give exposure and raising funds for the club through various ways felt essential, and I certainly hope that others will join in and create a positive environment for the dreaming footballers in the poorer areas of the world.