Cricket is played in Bergamo: the Italian sultans, between sport and social

Bergamo. In Italy, it is not very popular or even a tradition, but cricket It is one of the most popular sports in the world. It is practiced above all in the countries of the Commonwealth, or those that were part of the British Empire: it has an enormous following in the United Kingdom, but also in Australia and especially in Asia, because in Pakistan and India is undoubtedly the national state. sports.

A historical sport, traces of which exist since 1700, when football was not even conceived. With complex regulations and matches that can last for days, not just hours. It is played in 11 vs 11 and has some similarities to baseball, although the number of points differs as well as the pitch (which is oval) and development: there are those who throw the ball to one side and those who ‘defend’ the field for one team, both He hits him with a club and then runs across the field to the other. With reflections in every part of the game.

Cricket is also played in Bergamo, thanks to the Pakistani community. Reality Italian sultans It is one of the important foundations at the national level (the federation costs about 180 registered teams): Founded in 2018, it is one of the most successful teams in Italy. At first he played in Brescia, and is now part of the Bergamo Sporting Club, the federation that organizes tournaments in which 25 teams converge on weekends throughout the year in the Bergamo region.

The president of the club and the sultans is Mian detector. He was born in Pakistan in Lahore and is 40 years old and has been living in Italy since he was 21 years old. He works as a web designer, works in public offices in Siriat, and is a reference point for his community of about two thousand people in the Bergamo region. He arrived in Italy in 2003 and now lives in Palazzolo, but feels Bergamo is his home. That is why, in addition to competition, he wants the sport he has played all his life to have a social role as well.

Kashif actually works in a center where young people from foreign communities living in Bergamo can meet to play, share and interact, but also a free Italian school for children and adults, facilitating their integration into society: “We want to help adults integrate as well, people who may not work and do not leave the home “.

Sultans in Pakistan are very famous like Kashif who ended up on national television and in major newspapers for his good deeds. “I live here with my wife and son, but my parents still live in Lahore,” he explains. His goal is not only to win in sports, but to use the victories in sports to develop a social project: “A person is not happy with money, happiness is helping a person. We do everything with a heart.

We want to keep immigrant children off the streets and bad influences. A safe place where they can play cricket and also other sports, which we always finance.” Yes, because the entire project is self-financed by Kashif and other members of the Sultans personally working in solidarity and participation in community activities.

“Cricket is a glue for Pakistani society, it keeps us united: 300 people often come to watch the matches, including Italian families. Today we play in Telgate, in a field where the Italian national team plays as well (some Sultans members are also part of this fan, editor) We organize all the tournaments from our pockets and send their proceeds to charities as required even in our country.”