Army organises first girls football match after Covid-19 in Kashmir

For the promotion of sports activities including girls’ soccer, the first football match was played after the pandemic in the Kashmir Valley. Despite inadequate facilities and exposure, the Kashmiri youth have excelled in games at various levels and have the potential for producing outstanding sportsmen and sportswomen. For months, schools and colleges were closed which resulted in students having mental stress. So to create a friendly atmosphere, sports activities including girls’ football in collaboration with Delhi Public School (DPS) was played between Delhi Public School and Real Kashmir. 31 Sub Area under aegis of Chinar Corps organized a friendly football match at DPS Srinagar on 07 Nov 2020 comprising of two girls football teams. With the theme being ‘Girl Power’, the aim was to motivate women in Kashmir for participation in sports and focus on their physical & mental development. During the match, the girls displayed immense enthusiasm, competitiveness and skill. Maj Gen Raju Chauhan, GOC, 31 Sub Area, was the Chief Guest for the event. The event was attended by large number of locals, parents and school children. The initiative of the Army was appreciated by all. The Army also acknowledged the help and support received from the school administration and Real Kashmir Football Club in making the event a spectacular success.

“I am thankful to everyone who has participated in this event, we have been actively organising different events for different sports, the major objective behind this match is to promote football in Kashmir and to promote it between girls. Last week, we organised an adventure camp, when I talked to the girls, they all told me that these activities help them to release stress, kids are becoming dependent on social media, these type of activities help in maintaining the balance,” Major General, Rajiv Chauhan (Commander Sub Area) told reporters. The match was organised by authorities properly with Covid protocols as girls enjoyed a lot and demanded more such initiatives to promote football among girls of the valley. The basic theme of the DPS School our school is ‘girl should be given importance’. Every day at 8 am, girls comes to practice and the recently started cycle club, the very first day got 68 entries. and the school is now building a sports academy.