Brazilian icon Ronaldinho to visit Pakistan

Leisure Leagues has set Pakistan a date with the Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho, who will be visiting the country soon.

The 36-year-old is a 2002 World Cup winner with his national team and is known for his great achievements during his club career with the likes of Barcelona and Paris-Saint Germain.

Ronaldinho is reportedly going to participate in an exhibition match in Leisure Leagues Pakistan’s attempt to promote
football in the country.

Pakistan national football players, including Kaleemullah, Captain Hassan Bashir and women’s team captain Hajra Khan, hailed the launch of the Leisure Leagues in Pakistan.

“Leisure Leagues is a very positive step as it will help unearth players who can represent Pakistan in the future,” Kaleemullah said. “We desperately need a league system as that would help groom the youth into professional footballers.”

Leisure Leagues is a UK-based organisation which holds five-a-side, six-a-side and seven-a-side leagues in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and USA.

The organisation has been active for the past 25 years and its president Tim Ollerenshaw revealed that they have plans to launch their operations in Pakistan from next year.

The leagues structure is such that it is not limited to just attracting professional players; it will try to rope in anyone who wants to play football, and this is an aspect which excited Pakistan midfielder Muhammad Adil the most.
 
“The best thing is that anyone can play these leagues and that will give a lot of opportunities to many people to showcase their skills,” he said.

Source: The Express Tribune