Fareed Ullah Talks About His National Team Journey, Struggles,& Passion for Football

In an interview with Afghan TV, Fareed Ullah talks about starting football in Chaman, the challenges he faced at home, and his journey to the National Team. He recalls: -My education finished around the 8th grade. It ended because of sports ,football. I gave up everything—business, education. My father always had a conflict with me about it. He said, 'Do your education. If not education, then do business with your brothers.' I said, 'No, my heart isn't in education or business.' The passion for football was different. But now, when I went to the National Team, he said, 'Fine, you know best, do your work.

Wearing the national jersey has been a source of immense pride for Fareed, but his journey has been far from smooth. He has faced serious injuries and local politics that tried to block his progress. He explains: -It was an incredible pleasure. Wearing the national color makes a player very happy .In our area, Chaman, there were members [of the federation] who didn't want me to go to the National Team . But naturally, everyone watches and sees who is good and I made it to national team. -Later I have had big injuries. First in Quetta... Then I went to the National Team in Jordan. In that match, I fractured my collarbone in three places. I still have rods in it. -Due to injuries I was sidelined for the Afghanistan matches . And then for the Syria match, I wasnt invited. It’s a matter of destiny. I feel I was sidelined , If I am not invited again, I think I have already achieved my goal .

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I have seen players who suffer from injuries and hardships but still train and play — that’s real passion

Playing for local clubs comes with financial hardships and poor facilities. Fareed stresses how the absence of a proper league is affecting the sport in Pakistan:

"Clubs don't pay salaries... We don't have sponsors. We don't have a grass ground. Where do we train? On a rough ground with stones. Footballers in Pakistan face many problems. Clubs don’t give proper salaries. In our Muslim Club, we had no sponsor, no regular salary, no funds. Despite that, our coach helped us a lot. Some players have family responsibilities and financial problems, yet they still give everything to the team. I have seen players who suffer from injuries and hardships but still train and play — that’s real passion.”

He concluded with an emphasis on having a league.

"It has been 3 or 4 years since the National Team tours, but there is no proper League, neither a League nor a good Federation event. If FIFA events or a Premier League happens alongside departments, football will move forward."