Diya Women Football Club ( ur, ), also referred to as Diya W.F.C., Diya WFC, Diya FC, Diya, Diya Women FC, or DWFC, is a Pakistani women's association football and futsal club based in Karachi. ''Diya'' means Diya (lamp), lamp in Urdu. It is the country's oldest women's football club, established in 2002. Diya W.F.C. has no affiliation to any men's club.

History

Diya W.F.C. was founded in 2002 by Sadia Sheikh, a physical education teacher, founder and secretary general of Sindh Women Football Association since 2006 and first FIFA-certified football administrator in Pakistan, in 2011, and the only one so far. It was recognized by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) in 2006. Since 2010, Diya W.F.C. is a permanent member of the PFF committee, among 29 members. In September 2015, Diya W.F.C. was the first women’s football club to sign an agreement with Aspirations Pakistan Football Alliance (APFA) and follow their certified curriculum to improve standards of training for both Coach (sport)#Association football, coaches and Football player, players. Training ground (association football), Trainings take place on a ground located in Clifton, Karachi, Clifton, next to Bagh Ibne Qasim beachside park. Like other independent women's clubs in Pakistan, Diya W.F.C. has neither Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship nor affiliation to a corporation or a public administration, and is therefore financially supported by the owner, family and friends. Diya W.F.C. is also a competition organizer, such as the 1st Chase Up All-Karachi Under-23 sport, Under 23 Girls Futsal Tournament 2021, held in February 2021 in partnership with the Sindh Women Futsal Association. Beside women's football, Diya W.F.C. is a football promoter, offering Mixed-sex sports, mixed gender practice or setting up Youth system, academies for children across Sindh. In 2011, Diya W.F.C. was featured for its pioneer role in a documentary produced by the UNICEF.

Players

As of July 2017, 2,000 girls and women have been trained by Diya. In 2018, students and players age range was from 6 to 27.

Present players

Kiran Qureshi is the only Diya's player to be a member of the Pakistan women's national football team (PWNFT), as attacker, since 2020. Shumaila Gulab Hussain, Marium Zehri and Zunaira Shah played for the PWNFT and represented their country at the South Asian Football Federation and Asian Football Confederation events in Bhutan and Mongolia in 2018. Shumaila Gulab Hussain and Marium Zehri are Defender (association football), defenders within the under-16 PWNFT.

Past players

Misha Dawood was a 19-year-old Diya W.F.C. midfielder and a second year University of California, Berkeley, UC Berkeley student who died in Airblue Flight 202, a plane crash on 28 July 2010. She was considered a "promising star". On 4 August 2010, the best woman player award of the National Women Football Championship was renamed in her honor by the Pakistan Football Federation, PFF. The Shahlyla Baloch National Women Under-16 Championship, National Women Under-16 Championship was also renamed in her honor. Hajra Khan (footballer), Hajra Khan, Forward (association football), forward and Captain (association football), captain of PWNFT, played with Diya as a professional from 2008 to 2014, prior to moving to Balochistan United W.F.C. Mehwish Khan, also playing as Defender (association football), defender for the PWNFT, started playing with Diya W.F.C. prior to joining WAPDA women's club in 2011. Along with Hajra Khan and Mehwish Khan, Marium Leghari, a Diya player, represented Pakistan in the first 2010 SAFF Women's Championship, women’s South Asian Football Federation Championship held in Bangladesh in 2010. Rukhsar Rashid, who joined Diya W.F.C. in 2009 and is now coach of the club, was also a defender within the national team. Among the PWNFT, Afshan Altaf, Qurratulain Ashraf and Fatima Ansari started playing with Diya W.F.C. Manizeh Zainli, secretary general of PFF (2020), and the first women to hold this position, played football with Diya W.F.C. for two years as an Amateur sports#Association football, amateur.

Performance

Football

PFF competitions

The club competes within three PFF championships: under-16, under-19 and open age: * National Women Football Championship Diya W.F.C. was ranked 2nd in 2009 National Women Football Championship, 2009 and 2011 National Women Football Championship, 2011, 3rd in 2007 National Women Football Championship, 2007 and 4th in 2014 National Women Football Championship, 2014. Hajra Khan won the Misha Dawood Trophy in 2010 National Women Football Championship, 2010. * Shahlyla Baloch National Women Under-16 Championship, Shahlyla Baloch National Under-16 Women Football Championship It earned the 3rd position in 2015, in 2018 and in 2019. In 2014, the club was rewarded with the Sportsmanship, fair play trophy and prize.

Other competitions

Diya Women Football Club - competitions abroad

The State Bank of Pakistan held its own women's championship, in which Diya W.F.C. earned the 3rd place during the 4th edition in 2016.

International youth friendly competitions

Sponsored by Geo News of Pakistan and Alma Culture Center of Norway, and with the personal financial support of Diya's managers, U-13 and U-14 teams went to Norway in July 2017 to participate to the Norway Cup, without scoring any goal and getting 23 against. It was the first time a Pakistani team participated in a European tournament. In August 2017, Diya W.F.C.'s G-16 team went to Turkey to play friendly matches, sponsored by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, and U-13 and U-14 teams went to China for the Gothia Cup#Gothia Cup China, Gothia Cup. In August 2019, a mixed gender U-11 team went also to China for the Gothia Cup and won the fair play trophy among 66 participating teams.

Variations of football

Futsal

The club won the All-Pakistan Women Futsal Championship 2010, defeating Eco Adventure Club Islamabad (1-0), and Fatima Ansari and Kiran Yousuf were declared best players of the tournament. In 2021, Diya W.F.C. won the All Karachi Under-23 Girls Futsal Tournament, among eight teams, defeating Karachi Ladies FC (8-2), and Shumaila Gulab Hussain was declared as one of the best players.

Five and six-a-side football

Diya W.F.C. also participates to Leisure Leagues events in Pakistan. It earned the Leisure Leagues Women Football's Pink Cup 2020, held in October to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month, breast cancer awareness, defeating Garrison Football Academy (2-0). The club won the Leisure Leagues Women's Cup 2021, defeating IBA United (2-0).

Social activities

Through sport, Diya W.F.C.’s purpose is to give girls a chance for Women's empowerment, empowerment, and ''"transport, education and health fees are entirely covered"'' by the club It also teaches the players soft skills. Since 2008, every 25 February, Diya W.F.C. and the United Nations hold a friendly match with girls from poor areas of Karachi to promote gender equality, Equality before the law, equal rights and to stop violence against women. For the International Women's Day of 2015, the PFF held for the first time an Asian Football Confederation workshop in collaboration with Diya W.F.C. and Balochistan United W.F.C. In June 2018, Diya W.F.C., in collaboration with Right To Play and Women Win, at the invitation of Thar Foundation, organized a football discovery session (including a four month preparation, training of coaches and matches) and provided Kit (association football), equipment for U-13 girls in the Extremes on Earth#Remoteness, remote district of Tharparkar, which has the lowest Human Development Index Districts of Pakistan, of Pakistan. A similar operation was conducted in September 2020 in different areas of Karachi, along with Right To Play, Women Win and the Embassy of the United States, Islamabad, US mission in Pakistan. In October 2020, Imam Baloch, director of the National Bank of Pakistan, lauded Diya W.F.C.'s actions for spreading football to poor and "backward areas", such as Karachi localities of Malir Subdivision, Malir, Lyari and Ibrahim Hyderi and such List of districts in Sindh, Sindh province districts of Hyderabad District, Sindh, Hyderabad, Thatta District, Thatta, Mirpur Khas District, Mirpur Khas and Tharparkar District, Tharparkar, as well as discovering new talents over there. In Thatta, the club organized a four-day camp for 10 to 16 years old girls and awareness workshops about food and nutrient and Covid-19."Diya Women Football Club organizes 4 day training camp at Mukli, Thatta". ''Daily Messenger''. 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2021-10-19.

References

External links

Global Sport Archives - Diya W.F.C.

Global Sport Archives - Diya W.F.C. U16.

Eleven Sports - Diya W.F.C.'s matches - 2021 National Women Football Championship (video replay).

''Pakistan's first female football club breaks down cultural barriers'', UNICEF, 2011-03-02.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diya W.F.C. Women's football clubs in Pakistan Women's futsal clubs in Pakistan Association football clubs established in 2002 Futsal clubs established in 2002 2002 establishments in Pakistan Football in Karachi Diya W.F.C.