ISLAMABAD: Tufail Gul tightened his shoelaces and stepped onto the pitch at Islamabad’s multi-purpose F-12 ground earlier this week, weaving past defenders before burying the ball in the net. 

Not long ago, the 22-year-old was baking bread at a shop in his hometown of Pindi Gheb, about 100 kilometers from the Pakistani capital.

From a low-income family, Gul still works as a chef, an arrangement made by his club at its hostel so he can continue supporting his household, but his focus is firmly fixed on one ambition: earning a place in Pakistan’s national football team.

In Pakistan, where cricket dominates public attention and investment as a multi-billion-rupee industry, football has long existed on the margins. Despite strong grassroots followings in regions such as Balochistan and Karachi’s Lyari neighborhood, the sport has suffered from decades of administrative turmoil, limited infrastructure and scarce development pathways for young players.

Pakistan currently ranks 199th out of 210 teams in the FIFA world rankings, a reflection of these structural constraints. Against that backdrop, POPO Football Club, commonly known as POPO FC, has emerged as a rare exception, attempting to build a pipeline for underprivileged talent with little institutional support.

“POPO basically is a dream management organization where we manage the dreams of the underprivileged kids of Pakistan,” Haris bin Haroon, the club’s president, told Arab News.

“By underprivileged I mean the kids who are not financially strong or who don’t have resources to play football.”

Founded in 2013, POPO FC scouts raw talent from across the country through trials, personal referrals and viral social media videos. Over the past two years, the club has helped 36 players reach Pakistan’s Under-23, Under-19 and Under-17 national teams.

Gul is one of them.

“My parents are happy as I am playing football,” he told Arab News, adding that they are satisfied that “their son is working alongside it” and will move ahead in life.

Haroon, 37, who holds a master’s degree in management sciences and previously taught at the International Islamic University Islamabad, said the idea for the club took shape after a student’s unfulfilled football aspirations left a lasting impression on him.

Today, POPO FC operates as a residential academy, a rarity in Pakistan, offering free accommodation, meals, training and education to players with talent but no financial backing.

“At the moment, we have kids from all over Pakistan,” Haroon said, listing Panjgur, Dukki, Parachinar, Waziristan, Chitral, Mansehra, Azad Kashmir and Faisalabad.

“It is not POPO FC Islamabad, it is POPO FC Pakistan. Like Pakistan gathering to Islamabad.”

“HOLISTIC ENVIRONMENT”

The club’s intake combines structured trials with informal discovery. Players who gain attention online are often contacted directly. 

One such case was Ihsanullah Khan, a seven-year-old from Dukki in Balochistan, who was brought to Islamabad after his football skills went viral in 2019 and were featured by local and international media, including Arab News.

POPO FC aims to provide what Haroon describes as a “holistic environment,” covering not only football training but also nutrition, housing and education. Players receive tailored diets high in carbohydrates and protein for training and recovery, while schooling is treated as a core requirement rather than an afterthought.

The club is currently training 104 players, including 47 full-time residents at its hostel who attend public and private schools, universities or sit for exams privately.

“We are providing them with education, and we are trying to provide them with the best education which I can possibly do,” Haroon said. “We are trying to cover all the aspects of life.”

Among the club’s standout success stories is Abdul Samad, 15, captain of Pakistan’s Under-17 team. Originally from Swat, Samad joined POPO FC eight years ago.

“I became captain because I had leadership qualities, I knew how to manage the team, and my game was strong,” he told Arab News.

Recalling his early days, Samad said: “I would eat biscuits for all three meals and train twice a day, and that is how I reached this stage.”

Those conditions have since changed.

“Now we have full facilities, everything, including food and education,” the ninth-grader said after a match.

One of the youngest recruits is Bait Ullah, a nine-year-old from militancy-hit South Waziristan, selected on the first day of trials last year. 

Nicknamed “Nano Messi” by his peers, he has enrolled in school alongside daily training.

“Here, we play with the ball, whereas before we were mostly doing running,” he said. “I like Messi’s dribbling and passing, and when I grow up, I will become Messi.”

Living far from his family in a remote and volatile region, the sacrifice is not lost on him.

“Of course, I miss my parents, brothers, and sisters,” the nine-year-old said. “I am making this sacrifice so I can become a great footballer.”