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‘GOAAAAAAL! And this makes jersey no.7 the first-ever player from their country to score a hattrick! What a hat-trick! Absolutely spectacular!’, the commentator praised the newly emerging talent in the football world. From playing in a country where football is not a famous sport to winning National Best Player trophy for 3 years and many other awards, this jersey no.7 was only seven when entered into the Football world and knew not only how to break stereotypes but also firmly believed in sticking to one’s will.
We know the famous jersey no. 7 by the names of Raul Gonzalez, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and many others but do we know our own famous jersey no.7? Do we really care enough to know about our national heroes? I suspect not. October 12, 2018 marks this jersey no.7’s 2nd death anniversary.
Let me introduce you to the one, for whom the stadium was a stage, for whom it did not matter what others said, for whom football was not a part of life but life itself, for whom nation’s pride was everything, the one and only, Shahlyla Baloch. Born on March 12, 1996, in Quetta, she was the daughter of Pakistani women’s football President and Senator Rubina Irfan and the sister of Balochistan United and National team manager Raheela Zarmeen.
She was only seven when she with her mom and sisters went around knocking doors to convince parents to let their daughters play which was considered ‘only men’s sport’ in her country. She did not only prove that football is for everyone but also inspired many others to follow her footsteps.
Her mother founded the Balochistan United Women Football Club in 2004 and that’s when Shahlyla’s football journey started. She represented Pakistan at the 2014 SAFF Women’s Championship in Islamabad. She made it to the scoresheet in Pakistan’s 4-1 win over Bhutan. She was loaned to Sun Club, the Maldives in 2015 and helped the team in winning the bronze medal. She also became the only Pakistani player to score a hattrick in a foreign league.
For Shahlyla, football was everything. She would spend hours in practicing, falling and failing only to improve at what later would bring her awards. She wanted to be the best in her field. She considered herself “normal self pretty crazy”. She described crazy as “doing something different; something which nobody is willing to do”. She was a role model for the Pakistani girls who are trying to break stereotypes and willing to do something different.
The ground was her home where she practiced football and also tutored kids and teens. She could not only score with her right but also left foot. The power her feet had to score astonishing goals, many dreams to have it.
She fantasized about meeting her hero, her all-time favorite, none other than the Argentine magician, Lionel Messi. She imitated his style of play and admired his game. However, she got lucky when she met CR 7 – the two who shared the same number’s on their jerseys. The corrupt state of the game in Pakistan is what grieved Shahlyla. “FIFA is fair game! Politics should be out of it,” she voiced harrowingly. Shahlyla wished to set up grounds, bring in the right coaches and she came out in the evenings to educate many young buffs of the game.
This star-gazer lived with a dream. One, who dreamt of making it to a football galaxy which is rarely targeted by anyone from her country. Her dream was to play for Barcelona’s Women’s team, to make a name in Europe and earn a name for her country.
From receiving the youngest Asian player award to being the first female scoring a hat-trick in an international league, Shahlyla somehow was in a whirl, a whirl that was constantly dragging her downwards, where she knew time was faster than she imagined, she tried running faster, somehow trying to outrun and beat it at its own game of irony – yet, time’s marker turned victorious and she left us on October 12th, 2016 in a horrific car accident in Karachi at the age of just 20.
With her, her dreams died and so did the dreams of her fans who wanted to see her rise and shine in the football world. How many more dreams are we going to let die? How many more talents are we going to lose before they witness a beacon of hope, of success? I think its time we realize that our national talents need our attention. We spend time in admiring foreign prodigies but why not our own?
It’s time we start giving the same respect to football as we give to cricket. Its time we stop referring games as ‘men’s sport’ or ‘women’s sport’ rather realize that sports are for every person irrespective of their gender. We have thousands of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo but they need a platform to express themselves. If we won’t try to give them a platform, who else will? If we won’t promote their talent, who else will?
Football is a beautiful game. Those who play or watch it knows the joy of wind blowing in their face, running on a ground with the ball at their feet, stealing it from other players, dribbling, nutmegging, crossing and finally shooting the ball into the net. The emotions cannot be put into words.
I hope one day our football federation would be corruption free and we will see our players making it to the World Cup. And I hope that day comes soon. And I hope it will not only make us proud but also, give eternal peace to Shahlyla’s soul. May the spark in the game she initiated never dies down. Amen.
