KARACHI: Karachi Metroplitan Corporation (KMC) is set to form its cricket and football teams in the near future, a senior official of the department said on Monday. “Yes we are going to form cricket and football teams very soon. I am in contact with nine to ten first-class cricketers and hopefully the outfit will be launched formally in 15 days,” KMC Senior Director Culture, Sports and Recreation Saif Abbas told The News. He said that merit would be kept as the sole priority for picking players. He said that 20 players would be picked for each team.About officials he said that he would try at the first stage to test stuff of the department. “First I would test my own people with expertise in these sports and if they failed to deliver then we will seek more,” Abbas added. About football team he said more focus would be on Lyari. “Most of our players in football team would be from Lyari as it is the hub of the sport and we can find great talent there,” the official said. He said that the players would be taken on contract basis and Rs 20,000 monthly salary would be given to them. “And then those players who will perform will be made permanent,” Abbas added. He said that some footballers had already been picked.“We have already taken a few footballers from the KMC team which recently played in a football tournament at the KMC Stadium. We will hold some matches in the near future and would complete our team as I don’t believe in trials and it would be in matches where we will be able to find gutsy boys,” Abbas informed. He said that Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar had approved both the teams, adding he had put up the note sheet for the purpose. He also revealed that KMC also plans to establish football and cricket academies in which players from ten to 15 years of age would be trained. KMC had formed a football team in the past but due to conflict between the provincial government and local government the team had to be disbanded.
