Kashmir boys to play with Spanish football club
Srinagar's Basit Ahmed and Mohammed Asrar Rehbar have been selected to play with Sociedad Deportiva Lenense Proinastur, a third division professional club in Spain's La Liga, for the next six months. The 18-year-olds were chosen by the Central Reserve Police Force, who entered into a contract with the club and picked talent in an initiative to engage with Kashmiri youth.
From the shadow of guns in Srinagar to football grounds in Spain, it will be a long journey for two Kashmir boys who will be the first from the Valley to play in the prestigious Spanish league. Basit Ahmed and Mohammed Asrar Rehbar, both aged 18, will play with Sociedad Deportiva Lenense Proinastur - a third division professional club from the Spanish La Liga - for the next six months.                La Liga is the national football league in Spain. Ahmed, a centre-forward, and Rehbar, who plays on the wing, hail from Srinagar and were chosen by a special committee formed by the CRPF to pick footballing talent from the Kashmir Valley as part of its initiative to engage with the youth.                The paramilitary force also entered into a contract with the foreign club as part of the talent drive it undertook.               