Asmara Habib Kiani is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. She is a member of the national women football team and is also the head coach of the Total Football Youth Academy.

Personal life

Asmara started playing football in her school years. She then joined a professional club to further her skill in football. Asmara and her club formed the Young Rising Stars in 2007. In an interview, Asmara stated that she faces the

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

that football is not for women. She said it takes a lot of mental strength to deal with criticism but her father's support encouraged Asmara to move forward.

Club career

Asmara joined the Young Rising Stars in 2007 and started participating in professional tournaments. In 2009, she represented Pakistan in the

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as part of a sports envoy exchange programme. In 2012, Asmara became the captain of her club. She was a part of the YRS team which won the

National Women Football Championship The National Women's Football Championship is the top cup competition for women's football clubs in Pakistan. It was started in 2005 by the Pakistan Football Federation. Young Rising Stars has been the most successful team in the history of ...

a record five times. She was awarded the Misha Dawood Trophy for the Best Player at the 2012 edition. In 2017 as part of a Pakistani youth football team, Asmara and her team went to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to play at a tournament. She has also represented Pakistan in the SAF championship in

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. Asmara has also worked as a coach and as a sports development officer at the Total Football Youth Academy, where she provides football coaching to under 16 teams. She has also worked as an ambassador for football in Pakistan. In 2021, she captained Highlanders Football Academy at the 2021 National Women Football Championship. Her team won all four of their group stage matches, and thus topped the group. However, the tournament was cancelled before the knockout round.

International career

In 2010, Asmara represented the country in the first SAFF Women's Championship in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

as a member of Pakistan's national women football team. She also played for her country at the 2012 edition in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Honors

Young Rising Stars

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Individual

* Misha Dawood Trophy:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiani, Asmara Living people Pakistani women's footballers 21st-century Pakistani sportswomen Women's association football players not categorized by position Young Rising Stars F.F.C. players 1993 births