Aspiring footballers dare to dream at Atletico Madrid's Lahore academy

About 4,000 miles away from Spain, a football academy in Lahore, Pakistan has become a hotbed for young talent wishing to make a name in the popular sport.

Two years ago, Atletico Madrid, 10-time Spanish champions, became the first La Liga club to open an academy in Pakistan. Since then, the academy has attracted children from all over Pakistan aspiring to become the next Messi’s and Ronaldo’s of football.

Lahore's Summatus Sports Academy is a brainchild of businessmen Muhammad Atta Tanseer and his cousin Omer Sheikh, both passionate football fans who wanted to promote football in the country.

According to a BBC feature, the duo first tried to approach Atletico's city rivals Real Madrid to establish an academy in Pakistan. Although they didn’t succeed in convincing the club, they were able to get Atletico to make several visits to the country.

And that’s how the Summatus Sports Academy was created, in a landmark agreement with Atletico Madrid. In January, the academy will officially be rebranded as Atletico De Madrid Academia.

It already has over 100 children training there, and more academies are expected to follow in Karachi and Islamabad.

"It's going very well. I play as a forward and my training is going very well. We're learning basic skills - they're teaching it all," Hammad Zia, a 12-year-old forward at the academy, told BBC.

His father, a Lahore policeman named Zia Ur-Rehman, said he recognised his son's talent early on.

"When I was a child, I wanted to be a footballer, but there was no support from my parents. That passion I had remained inside me; it didn't die. When my son was born, that footballing desire returned for him,” he said.

"Our wish is that Hammad gets selected to play in Spain and also represents Pakistan."

The Spanish club also provide coaches – Daniel Limones and Javier Visea have been living in Lahore since September.

"We had a different view when we were in Spain to that we now have living here. Everything is different - the pace of life, the religion, the things they are focused on are different," said Limones.

"But it's a country with a lot of opportunities, and the people here are really kind, really helpful. They really want to grow, they want to learn, so our experience here has been really nice."