UAE wins 2019 Ramadan Year of Tolerance football cup in Islamabad

• KSA, Egypt, Sudan, UAE, Nigeria, Kuwait & Arabs from two other nations played
• KSA won third place match against Egypt on Saturday night

ISLAMABAD: The winning streak of the Emiratis that survived the ten day Year of Tolerance Football Championship of Ramadan 2019 came to a fruitful end early Sunday morning as the UAE team won against its opponent 1-0 taking the big trophy.
Initiative of UAE Ambassador Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Al Zaabi who revived the spirit of football organizing the tournament last year under the title ‘Year of Zayed’ is aimed at rekindling relations between the Arab diplomats stationed in Islamabad.
“This kind of activity brings all Arabs, all Islamic countries, and all (Middle East) embassies together”, Al Zaabi told Arab News, as his team lifted the winning cup.
The Emirati envoy pledged to do more toward what he called a successful “sports diplomacy”.
The game was suspended back in 2008 during Pakistan’s troubled era plagued by terrorism. But in 2018 UAE emabssy which has indulged in several philanthropic activities took steps to connect with other Arab nations through football, a game commonly played in the Middle East.
Arab News shows in this video report, its second coverage of the tournament this month, the excitement of participants, players, and a select crowd of Arabs and Pakistanis enjoying the football in cricket crazy Pakistan.