Ahmed Raza — the 15-year-old son of Shabbir Ahmed, a Pakistani football maker whose family has been hand stitching footballs for the FIFA World Cup for three generations — will conduct the coin toss at tomorrow’s match between Brazil and Costa Rica.
According to a press release, Raza will make history on Friday by becoming the first ever Pakistani to be present on a World Cup field in an official capacity.
The 15-year-old and his father are both football fanatics and Raza’s involvement in the FIFA World Cup 2018 is a dream come true for both of them, adds the press release.
Raza, who is a passionate fan of Neymar Jr and the Brazilian football team, will also have the opportunity to meet his favourites in person.
Coca-Cola, the company behind the initiative, is also taking Kaleemullah, the captain of Pakistan’s national football team (men), to Russia for FIFA World Cup 2018.
The company has collaborated with two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy to document Raza’s journey from Sialkot to Moscow. The documentary is set to be released next month.
