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FOOTBALL fans looking for competitive action in the kingdom are being invited to sign up for new social leagues and competitions being staged in Saar.
Fair Play Events, under the helm of Zakir Mir, has launched both men and women’s competitions and the inaugural leagues will continue until the end of the year.
Expat Mir, of Indian-Canadian descent, is delighted that his long-awaited plans have finally come to fruition. He said: “Fair Play has come about after a long time spent informally organising football and other sporting events among friends on the island and elsewhere, including Canada and the United States where I have also lived previously.
“Although there were a lot of high level sports events taking place in the kingdom, there didn’t appear to be many open recreational or social competitions. In particular, we focused on women and casual male players, for whom there was no kind of ‘developmental’ or ‘social leagues’ available to all levels of players.
“For example, to play football on a Saturday for a newcomer, players would have had to join a club or association and try to fit it into their schedules. Many come with membership fees and there is still no guarantee of regular playing time, especially if you’re at a beginner’s standard.
“We saw a niche for leagues and events aimed at everyone who wanted to play sport, and in particular football, in a less regimented environment.
“We initially planned to start a social league for women, to help promote casual football and sports for women on a recreational basis. Bahrain already has a high level competitive league for women, therefore, our league mainly set out to provide a platform for the more casual and younger players, or academy stars.”
Mir, alongside close friend Faisal Khan, has paid for most of the expenses for his ‘passion project’ out of his own pocket. He works full-time as a lawyer and consultant in both Bahrain and Dubai. Khan, originally from Mumbai, has a background in event planning and handles the day-to-day management activities of the league.
The leagues follow a seasonal format, with each running for a period of months during autumn, winter and summer. During each season, teams and individuals can join at any point.
There are both ‘team of the month’ and ‘player of the month’ awards for those who stand out, as well as a ‘team of the season’ award to the overall league winners at the end of each campaign.
The current autumn season will run until December, after which there will be a break until January, with a new season kicking off.
Mir staunchly believes that everyone should have an equal opportunity to play the game they love, which is why he has contributed significant time and money to get the Fair Play leagues running.
He said: “Wherever I have been in the world, I’ve seen how sports have the capacity to bring so many different people together, and at the heart of it, that’s the ultimate aim of our league. We want to create an environment where the multicultural and cosmopolitan nature of Bahrain can be reflected through sports.
“The leagues are competitive, but mostly it is supposed to be fun and enjoyable for the teams involved, allowing them to focus on developing skills and keeping fit.”
Mir is a regular member at the Bahrain Karate Association and Khan has helped to organise cricket tournaments in the past. Both are keen to expand into other sporting activities where there is significant interest, although this will depend on funding.
At the moment, there are three teams in the women’s division - Tekkers Academy, Super Soccer Academy, and Phoenix FC. In the men’s, there is a free agent team, Fair Play FC, The White Tigers FC, 10C and Super Soccer Academy.
Mir added: “Anyone interested in playing any kind of sport, including football, please get in touch. We are very keen on bringing together people and helping them to connect to different sports. We are happy to refer female soccer players to various academies playing with us, so we can be a stepping stone for talented players.
“People can find us on @events.fairplay on Instagram, or Fairplay Events on Facebook. We also have pictures from the games posted on Bahrain Friendly Football there as well for those interested. All we take, to book the ground and hire the referee, is BD2 per player on the night.”
Anyone interested in joining can contact Zakir Mir on 38247303 or by emailing zakir@fairplaybh.com, or Faisal Khan at 34057483 and faisal@fairplaybh.com
