KARACHI: On a day which began with the surreal reality of the coronavirus pandemic firmly taking hold on the PSL, Peshawar Zalmi fell to a loss against Multan Sultans at Karachi in what was a must win game for the team in yellow. Set a seemingly easy target to chase, Peshawar struggled but never looked out of it till the end. It left them bitterly disappointed with a game they would feel they should have done better with.
In the early hours of Friday, news had emerged that most foreign players would be leaving the country immediately. This was soon after the announcement that the remaining matches in Karachi would be held behind closed doors, with no fans. By the afternoon, the PCB announced that the tournament would be cut short by four days. Given all the other existential challenges that had threatened this historic PSL – the first to be played entirely in Pakistan – the rise of a global pandemic was perhaps one eventuality that no one had expected.
It meant a return to the PSL in front of an empty stadium, a constant blight during its run in the UAE. It also meant that both teams were missing important players, though Zalmi’s completely Pakistani squad suggested the bigger loss. But it didn’t immediately play out that way for Multan who were put into bat by Wahab Riaz who won the toss for Zalmi. After a steady start from their much heralded youngsters, Zeeshan Ashraf and the debutant Rohail Nazir, Multan crumbled in the middle phase. Moeen Ali and Ravi Bopara, two Englishmen who have chosen to stay, had miserable outings with the bat.
Zeeshan had reached his highest score in the PSL with 52, but the fall of his wicket led to a collapse as Multan folded tamely. Given Multan had already qualified there was also the suspicion that they just weren’t as plugged in as their opponents.
Those suspicions quickly fell away as Multan immediately put Zalmi on the back foot. Mohammad Irfan got rid of danger man, Kamran Akmal, which brought out the novel sight of Wahab walking in at three. The expectation would have been that the captain would use his big hitting prowess, but it never came to be. Wahab played a tepid knock before falling to Tanvir.
Imam ul Haq offered the main resistance around which Zalmi built, with veteran Shoaib Malik offering steady support. However, like Multan before the fall of wickets made it hard for the new batter to up the pace and Zalmi also began to collapse. They stumbled to the final over with a daunting 15 to get for their tail enders. But Multan’s newcomer Ali Shafiq almost ruined a fine over with two full toss no balls. It briefly brought Zalmi back but they lacked the requisite firepower to finish off the match.
Multan continued to show off the thoughtfulness with which their side has been built, as their experienced bowlers pulled back a match their batters had surely lost. Their win leaves the tournament still wide open with only three matches to go. Zalmi would be kicking themselves for letting this fall away, but with all that has been happening, there’s only so much that could be controlled.
Zalmi fail to grab chances in PSL thriller
https://arab.news/vmkc6
Zalmi fail to grab chances in PSL thriller
- Multan’s victory leaves the tournament still wide open with only three matches to go
- PCB announced that the contest would be cut short by four days amid coronavirus fears
Footballco launches new Riyadh studio to boost creator-led content boom
- Football media company’s venture caters for its Arabic video-first brands
- Footballco also plans to create in-studio formats for its fan-driven series, Yalla Fans, previously shot on location at football stadiums
RIYADH: Football media and culture company Footballco have opened a new production studio in Riyadh.
The move allows it to boost the volume of in-studio content created for its leading Arabic video-first football brands — Yalla Goal, Yalla Fans and Yalla Girl, as well as branded content for commercial partners.
The new studio complements Footballco’s Riyadh office, which opened in December 2024 as its Middle East headquarters. Footballco’s move to the city was driven by a desire to better serve clients in Saudi Arabia and to bring it closer to the country’s burgeoning football industry. The company now has 20 full-time staff in the Kingdom.
Footballco currently operates three video-first Arabic-language football brands in the region, all targeting Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha fans and fronted by experienced content creators. Yalla Goal combines spirited discussions, bold challenges and fun games, while Yalla Girl celebrates the growth of women’s football in Saudi Arabia and the region, with a focus on talent, personality, laughter and friendship. Footballco also plans to create in-studio formats for its fan-driven series, Yalla Fans, previously shot on location at football stadiums.
The company’s decision to invest in creator-led, in-studio video formats is backed by its own research which found that, for young fans, brand partnerships with creators are seen as more valuable than official tournament partnerships.
Footballco’s new studio will increase the frequency of video content created for its channels, supported by two full-time hosts for Yalla Goal — Mohammed Bargat and Waleed Al-Shargi (better known as Shargi), who have a combined following of over 900,000 on their personal channels.
Andy Jackson, Footballco’s Middle East senior vice president, said: “With seven national teams from the region set to appear at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, eight if Iraq qualify through the play-offs, these new facilities and increasing video output sets our brands up for success at a time where we know there will be an unprecedented demand for fun, creator-led video content.
“We’re also excited to welcome both Bargat and Shargi to the team, with both having more than proved themselves as understanding how to create content that resonates with young fans and they are already familiar to our audiences.”
He added: “In December, our Arabic social channels generated over 1.7 billion video views, so we are building from an incredibly strong base to further cement our position as the clear market leader both in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Our creator-led video formats have proved incredibly popular with brands, and this investment will see us able to offer a broader range of opportunities to our many commercial partners.”
While the World Cup this summer will see Footballco’s new studio in constant use, the company is also readying a slate of programming across Ramadan, with a 30-show spread culminating in an Eid special.
Taha Imani, Footballco’s head of video and social in the Middle East and North Africa region, said: “With YouTube becoming the number one place for fans to enjoy longform and short-form football content, and based on success across Footballco brands such as The Front Three in other markets, we’re expecting to grow at speed as we approach the World Cup giving fans exactly what they want from us on a daily basis.”
