The 21st Fifa World Cup, the second mega event in the world of sports after the Olympics, has kicked off in Russia with an opening match between the host and Saudi Arabia.

Like the rest of the world, there are crazy fans of the game here in Pakistan also. Fifa, the controlling authority of the game, has a fair system to pick up teams for the tournament. Its 204 member-countries have to take part in qualifying rounds on knock-out basis. So, every country gets a chance to qualify and, at the end, the top 32 teams go through.

Though Pakistan has no standing in the world of football, South American and European countries are old rivals for the title. Even North American countries such as the US and Canada could not bag the title even once. But South American countries like Brazil (four times), Argentina (two), Uruguay (two) and Argentina (two) have clinched the title more than once. From Europe, Germany has won the title thrice, and France, Spain and England have each won once. Even now, Fifa ranking toppers Germany and Brazil are being seen as hot favourites for the title.

It is the first time that a record number of seven Muslim countries -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Iran and Nigeria -- are participating in the tournament. Morocco was also a candidate to host the World Cup 2026.

Though the Moroccan football delegation also visited Pakistan for support in the vote, the Pakistan Football Federation cast its vote in favour of the three joint bidders of the US, Canada and Mexico.

The record number of audience at any Fifa World Cup was recorded way back in 1950 with 171,772 attending at Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Sports Board Punjab (SBP), which hosted a boxing event at Punjab level before Ramazan, failed to award cash prizes to the best boxers. Now it has decided to hold an event after Eidul Fitr to present the prizes; the date of the event is yet to be announced.

The winning boxers are worried due to the lacklustre attitude of the board. On many occasions, the SBP’s working has been exposed. There is an urgent need to hand over the affairs of the board to qualified sportspersons instead of bureaucrats, who have no expertise in the field.

The SBP has also failed to honour the medal winners of Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia in April. There are seven athletes, who earned medals in weightlifting and wrestling -- all from Punjab, but SBP did not bother to even invite them to appreciate their performance.

Mountaineer Mohammad Faheem Pasha is all set to scale Gasherbrum II this summer. The 35-year-old climber will start his expedition on June 16. He is part of a 13-member team of climbers attempting the “Eight Thousander”.

The team comprises one more Pakistani climber and 11 from Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland, which will take over a month to complete the expedition. Faheem hails from Rawalakot district of Kashmir and has been associated with mountaineering since the age of 23.

“I drive my inspiration from legendary Italian climber Reinhold Messner and his romance with Nanga Parbat; the mountain that I first saw in 1994 during my first visit to Northern Areas. I’m quite elated knowing that my employer is supporting this cause and believes in my passion,” he says.

Gasherbrum II, located at Pakistan-China border in Gilgit-Baltistan is 8,035 metres above sea level and is the 13th highest mountain in the world.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2018