Football enthusiasts brighten up streets of Malir for FIFA World Cup

Football enthusiasts in Malir’s Siddique Goth are geared up for the world’s largest, month-long athletic event as the countdown to the FIFA World Cup begins.

The locals are passionately and intensely awaiting watching the international competition. Football is the locals of Siddique Goth’s favourite sport, and Brazil is their favourite team.

The entire neighbourhood, not just one house, is eagerly anticipating the arrival of the World Cup. Some others have painted the Brazilian flag on their homes, while others have plastered a photo of the country’s renowned footballer, Neymar.

Local children gathered to paint the faces of famous football players and the flags of the competing teams on the walls of their streets. Thanks to the local Gul Baloch Football Club, whose players work day and night sketching paintings to cover the walls, colours could be seen strewn across Siddique Goth.

The local club’s players rise early for work, return home in the evening for a hasty football session, and then grab a brush to paint the streets of the neighbourhood.

The decorations are a part of their traditions, according to one of the painters and local football player Hameed Baloch.

“We study in the morning and paint this at night. All this hard work is a reflection of our love for football. All of this is done voluntarily by the Gul Baloch Football Club,” Baloch said.

This tradition of decking up the neighbourhood has been in practice in the Siddique Goth since 2006 and is a way for their residents to show their love for the game of football which has also been acknowledged by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).