New cricket centre to open in Mirpur

A new cricketing and educational facility will be opened in Mirpur on March 6, developed and funded by the non-profit Sport for Life! foundation, the UK government and international cricketing authorities. The Pakistan government is supporting the venture.

The new co-educational facility will provide youngsters between the ages of 10-16 in the rural area with the latest desktop computers, interactive whiteboards and classrooms with the aim of increasing levels of numeracy, literacy and IT skills. Coaches will be recruited from local communities and trained to maintain the centre.

The project in Pakistan is supported by some of Pakistan's greatest cricketing role models, Wasim Akram and Imran Khan. Sport for Life! was founded after the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. Following the implementation of Sport for Life! centres in the Caribbean and UK, the programme continues to use cricket as a recruiting mechanism to motivate and inspire young people to participate in sport, education and healthy lifestyle training.

Sport for Life! plans to develop more centres in Rawalpindi and other parts of Pakistan. The foundation will continue to sustain the initiative through a combination of internal and external, private, public and philanthropic donations.