By our correspondent
KARACHI: Empower Sports Academy, Pakistan’s leading non-profit dedicated to empowering girls through sport, announced today at the Governor House the 3rd National Empower Girls Tournament 2026, held in partnership with the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP).
The tournament will feature competition across four disciplines: volleyball, badminton, taekwondo, and athletics, including the 100m, 200m, 400m, javelin throw and discus events. The event was well attended by leading media houses, corporate partners, sports professionals, federations, educators and stakeholders from across the country.
Journalist, social activist and PR practitioner Shanaz Ramzi opened the event, saying that now in its third year the National Empower Girls Tournament had grown into one of Pakistan’s most significant platforms for young female athletes, drawing competitors from across the country and giving them the opportunity to compete at a national level.
Alisha Junaid, the young national-level volleyball player and founder of Empower Sports Academy. Alisha shared her journey so far and highlighted details of the upcoming third Empower National Girls Tournament. Speaking on the occasion, she said that when she founded the academy she had one vision: to give girls in Pakistan the same right to compete in the Olympics, to grow and to dream that every young athlete deserves.
Alisha added that the tournament was not just a competition but a pipeline to the world stage, and that with the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme standing with them, a powerful message was being sent to every girl in Pakistan that her ambition matters and her country believes in her.
Malika Junaid, co-founder of Empower Sports Academy, said that as a mother and co-founder she had always believed no dream was too big for daughters, and that these tournaments were how Pakistan’s future Olympians were being identified. She added that the upcoming flagship facility in Islamabad would provide a world-class environment for training and excellence, and that the organisation was not simply running a tournament but building a generation of champions.
Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, expressed his delight at the progress made so far by Empower Sports Academy, saying the programme existed to unlock the potential of Pakistan’s young people and, in this context, the potential of young women. He said the academy was doing extraordinary work in identifying talent where others had not looked and building the foundations of a sporting future for girls in the country.
Rana Mashhood added that the partnership reflected the government’s commitment to ensuring Pakistan’s daughters had every opportunity to rise, not just nationally but on the Olympic stage. He also noted the initiative reflected an unwavering commitment to uplifting young women through sport, with plans to reach 10,000 girls this year and expand further in the years ahead through increased access to training, mentorship and competitive opportunities. He said these young athletes would go on to represent Pakistan on global stages.
The 3rd National Empower Girls Tournament 2026 will bring together young female athletes to compete in volleyball, badminton, taekwondo, and athletics, including the 100m, 200m, 400m, javelin throw and discus events. The tournament forms a central pillar of Empower Sports Academy’s long-term strategy to identify and develop elite female athletes and create a direct pathway for Pakistani girls to compete at the Olympic Games.
Empower Sports Academy is a non-profit organisation founded by Alisha Junaid, dedicated to empowering girls in Pakistan through sport. The academy organises national tournaments, provides coaching and development programmes, and works to build a direct pathway for female athletes to compete at the Olympic Games. With a mission rooted in inclusion, excellence and national pride, it says it is changing the story of what girls in Pakistan can achieve, one athlete at a time. The organisation acknowledged its extensive network of partners who it says are playing a pivotal role in building Pakistan’s future female sports ecosystem. Official partners and collaborators include the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, Stanford Women’s Volleyball (USA), VakifBank Sports Club (Turkey), PSB, POA, taekwondo, volleyball and athletics federations, Jazz, JazzCash, Nike, Bookme, Crown Group, Naya Nazimabad Gymkhana, Interwood, Guidetti Academy, SportWrench, HUM TV, Hyder, M. Design Architects, Elevate, Kids University, and Rasheed Ahmad & Sons, alongside international universities and elite volleyball institutions in the United States, which are opening doors for Pakistani girls to access global-level training, scholarships and academic opportunities abroad.
