Both Pakistani girls Jamna & Devi belong to Thar district and they never participated in any international tournament before. "The Gothia" football tournament is considered as the world's biggest youth football tournament. The female players are being sponsored collectively by Engro & Thar Foundation, who will cover their expenses for travel, boarding & lodging and accommodation.
The girls have been part of a ten-day training camp in Karachi where apart from playing practice matches, they have been attending grooming classes. The girls are a part of a ten-member team of South Youth Soccer Academy.
Both girls sees this as an opportunity of a life time for them and for the other Thari girls and feels it is the culmination of their hard work and a solid sign that they can have a future in football According to Devi's uncle: " This is actually unheard of... it is hard for me to believe that my niece will be travelling abroad and that too for playing a sport like football which is an alien sports in this region. In my 50 plus years of life, I have never heard a boy let alone a girl travelling out of Tharparkar. I am grateful to Thar Foundation and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company for providing this opportunity to our girl."
On this occasion Ahsan Zafar Syed, CEO Engro Energy Limited said that Engro is focused in its mission to not only educate the female population of Thar but also to provide them with opportunities to explore their talent and realize their dreams.
Sabeen Shah, spokesperson Thar Foundation said that I've been working with these girls from the very beginning, it's a dream come true in many ways because we are finally taking them to this tournament after months of hard work.