SALMA IN THE BIRMINGHAM MAIL

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2012/01/24/bordesley-green-sports-girl-salma-bi-stages-marathon-fund-raising-effort-97319-30184937/

Salma's Futsal event on March 10 and her T10 cricket tournament on April 28 were plugged in the Birmingham Mail this week.
The Asian Today is also planning another feature. We'll keep the media push going and going - we believe in the cause so much.

FEMALES PUT BEST FUTSAL FORWARD AT FUTSAL BIRMINGHAM

1,000 HITS FOR GREAT WHITE SHARKS BLOG

TODAY the Great White Sharks blog reached 1,000 hits - just a month since it was born.
Thank you to everyone for your support and we will keep doing our best to make this blog as lively and interesting as possible.

SHARKS AIM FOR FUTSAL RECORD!

 

FOOTBALLING females are preparing themselves for a test of endurance which could land them in the record books.

In March, 40 ladies will attempt to set a women’s marathon futsal record of 10 hours non-stop playing at a Midlands venue.

The event will take place at the Birmingham International Futsal Arena on Saturday, March 10, between 9am and 7pm.

It has been organised by award-winning sportswoman Salma Bi, who is hosting the showpiece to celebrate Women’s International Day, which happens on March 8.

Salma, 25, is better known for her cricketing achievements, but is also a very keen futsal player and captains the Great White Sharks, the first female Asian-Muslim team to compete in the Birmingham Women’s Futsal League.

The futsal marathon will be a fundraiser for two causes – the first ever women’s T10 indoor cricket tournament at Edgbaston on April 28 and also the National Autistic Society (a charity close to Salma who has a young niece who is a wheelchair user).

“We want the event to raise awareness of women’s futsal as well as raise money for two worthy causes,” said Salma.

As there is no official world women’s marathon futsal record, the Birmingham event hopes to lay down a marker for others to try to beat.

http://great-white-sharks.blogspot.com/ 

Salma added: “The attempt to set a futsal record has already got a lot of heads turning.

“There are plenty of female individuals who believe they can set themselves a challenge and beat it.

“No other women’s futsal arena/team has attempted such a record. This definitely will be one to watch. 

“The game will be open to spectators to come and support the girls throughout the day. We hope to raise awareness of female sports around the world and what a way to do it.”

Salma, who is executive director of cricket coaching organisation Believe in M.A.D (Making A Difference), is not settling for nothing.

She hopes to Make the Difference by doing and getting women involved in events nobody has yet attempted. 

So far she has a had a great response: This year her efforts will focus on the Futsal 10 hours women’s record and then the T10 Women’s World Cup Indoor tournament (see below).

CRICKET

Cricket is Salma’s biggest love and along with co-founder Khalid Siddique is behind a new coaching organisation called Believe in MAD (Making A Difference) which aims to raise awareness of both girls/women’s cricket and disability cricket.

Part of the initiative will involve hosting a pioneering national Ten10 cricket tournament that invites girls aged 14 and over to participate in a six-a-side World Cup-style competition.

Birmingham-based Salma made the headlines two years ago when she won an Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Asian Sports Awards for her contributions to women’s cricket on a night which also saw world boxing champion Amir Khan and England Test bowler Isa Guha pick up top accolades.

The first Asian female ever to be chosen to represent Worcestershire CC, Salma also plays for Five Ways Old Edwardian’s and Wall cricket clubs and is a level one umpire and level two coach who aims to inspire young girls from ethnic minorities to become involved in cricket.

Her latest venture promises to be her most impactive yet, with the inaugural Ten10 tournament the perfect launch pad.

The Edgbaston Indoor Cricket Centre in Birmingham is scheduled to stage the event on April 28.

Salma needs around £5,000 to host the tournament, which she hopes to raise through the women’s futsal marathon on March 10, Masterclass coaching and sponsorship. 

(Main sponsors Great White Sharks Futsal Women’s team and Fiveways Zombies Indoor Women’s Cricket Team).

http://great-white-sharks.blogspot.com/

http://mad-cricket.blogspot.com/

“We aim to have 12 teams, all provided with a coach,” explained Salma. 

“There will be two pools of six teams, each playing five games on a round-robin basis, with progression to the quarter-finals, semis and final depending on points accumulated.

“The idea is to have exciting, fast-paced games and to add extra intrigue, teams who finish on the same points will play-off in a ‘super over’ where each batsman will try to score as many runs as possible off one ball each.

“Players of all abilities will be welcome and each team will be represented by a country name to give the event more of a World Cup theme.

“It will be a day of fun, games and learning, but most importantly involving girls and women playing sports.

“We shall have case studies of people with a disability playing cricket and a special guest attending to present the awards, hopefully an England Women’s player who can share their experiences and Make A Difference.”

Salma is seeking sponsors for an event she hopes will attract local, regional and national media coverage.

Believe in MAD are having their own logos printed and sponsors motifs will also be displayed on banners publicising the tournament. Sponsors logos will also be used on team kits.

As for the future, Salma and Khalid hope to eventually open an indoor cricket academy in the Birmingham area with nets, coaching facilities and regular staging of T10 league matches.

SALMA’S ROLES AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

Change4life British Asian Sports Awards Winner-Outstanding Achievement Award 2009

Coach of the Year runner-up British Asian Sports Awards 2010

Lady Taverner’s Member – Disability Cricket.

Eiman Board Member

Muslim Women’s Network – Big Sister Role Model

Junior Sports Leadership Award 

England Cricket Board-Warwickshire Cricket Board Level 2+ Cricket Coach.

Five Ways Old Edwardians Cricket Club Senior Captain and Under-15 girls Club Coach.

Five Ways Old Edwardians Cricket Club Men’s 3rds and 2nd’s Team Player (Only Girl)

Wall Cricket Club (Men’s) 1st Team Player as only girl with younger sister Anisha Bi

Worcestershire County Cricket Club Women’s Senior Squad player.

Marylebone Cricket Club representative Player (Lords CC)

Local leagues Level 2 Cricket Coach.

Warwickshire Cricket Board Level 1 Umpire (only Muslim/Asian Girl in UK).

Great White Sharks Futsal Captain/goalkeeper

Fiveways Zombies cricket team Vice Captain

Haemodialysis Registered Adult Nurse

Executive Director – Believe In M.A.D (Making A Difference)

For more information on this press release or if anyone can offer sponsorship for the T10 tournament contact edinews96@aol.com or call Dave Jones on 07776 498065.

     Be Yourself

     Be Unique

     Believe

‘Queen Ov Speen’

MORE BITES TO COME.....

ALTHOUGH the current futsal season is over this blog will continue to bring you news on the Great White Sharks when we have it.
We are also seeking an interview with champion boxer Amir Khan. Questions have been sent to his management on request and we hope to get a replies once King Khan has sorted out important boxing matters. Now is a very busy time for our hero.
An interview is also being sought with England cricketer Isa Guha and other features are in the pipeline.
Contributions to this blog are always welcome. Please contact edinews96@aol.com

WINNING END FOR THE SHARKS

THE Great White Sharks finished their season in the Birmingham Women's Futsal League on a winning note last night.
GWS beat Birmingham United 6-3 and put up an awesome performance.
Main goal-scorers Nazma and Camilla were outstanding up front.
Captain Salma said it was a great way to finish the season and she presented all the team with medals to mark their progress.
Salma also commented that the girls had shown great teamwork, skill and enthusiasm throughout the season.
GREAT WHITE SHARKS RESULTS 2011/12 SEASON
BIRMINGHAM WOMEN'S FUTSAL LEAGUE
Nov 9 - Fresh of the Fold - LOST 2-7
Nov 16 - Midlands Deaf Ladies FC - DREW 5-5
Nov 23 - Birmingham United Ladies B - WON 10-4
Nov 30 - Stingers B - DREW 1-1
Dec 07 - Birmingham United B  - DREW 8-8
Dec 14 - Fresh of the Fold - DREW 7-7
Dec 21 - Midland Deaf Ladies FC - LOST 2-3
Jan 04 - Stingers B - LOST 5-9
Jan 04 - Birmingham United B - WON 13-9
Jan 11 - Stingers B - LOST 1-3
Jan 18 - Birmingham United B - WON 6-3
PLAYED: 11
WON: 3
DRAWN: 4
LOST: 4
GOALS FOR: 60
GOALS AGAINST: 59


SQUAD: 
Salma Bi (c), Ambreen Akhtar, Aisha Bi, Anisha Bi, Camilla Rehman, Farzana Hussain, Nahilla Khatoon, Nazma Shaheen.

GREAT EFFORT FROM SHARKS

TONIGHT the Great White Sharks lost 3-1 to Stingers B in the Birmingham Women's Futsal League but the girls put up their usual fine effort.
Camilla scored for the Sharks and Aisha went close to getting on the scoresheet (we are all rooting for her to score) and netminder Salma also nearly scored with a clearance from her goal!
Salma was delighted with the effort put in in what was a much lower scoring game than the two last week, so defensively well done Sharks.
Well done too to the Stingers. Now it is on to the next game and another 100% effort from the Great White Sharks!

MEN coverage for MAD

SALMA'S pioneering T10 ladies cricket tournament, scheduled for Birmingham on April 28, has been featured in the Asian News section of the Manchester Evening News website today.
The article also discusses Salma's M.A.D (Make A Difference) project with which she plans to extend her good work in promoting women's cricket.
Salma needs sponsors for her April 28 event and anyone interested can write to edinews96@aol.com
Your details will be passed on to Salma.
More widespread promotion of the tournament is planned for the coming weeks.

http://menmedia.co.uk/asiannews/sport/s/1470427_cricket-mad-salma-aiming-to-make-a-difference

GOOD LUCK KAID

Picture: Kaid pictured celebrating winning the Welsh Cup with Carmarthen Town in 2007.

GOOD luck to Great White Sharks supporter KAID MOHAMMED in his FA Cup third round tie for Cheltenham Town at mighty Tottenham Hotspur today, kick-off 3pm.
Many thanks to Kaid for taking time out to give an interview to our blog this week.
I would imagine Birmingham is buzzing today with Brum playing local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the cup right now!
Hopefully Match of the Day will show snatches of the Tottenham v Cheltenham game tonight so we can see a bit of Kaid in action.
Happy sporting Saturday to everyone! Me? I'm off to cover Prestatyn Town v Neath in the Welsh Premier League. See you soon....

SALMA IS IN THE HEADLINES AGAIN!

http://www.theasiantoday.com/article.aspx?articleId=2783

SHARKS captain Salma Bi was the subject of a two-page colour spread in Wednesday's edition of The Asian Today newspaper.
The article focused on Salma's cricketing background and career, and also her new Believe in M.A.D (Make A Difference) venture, plus her plans to stage an indoor T10 Women's Cricket Tournament in the Birmingham area in 2012.
Salma would appreciate any offers of help or sponsorship for this event. To do so, please e-mail me at edinews96@aol.com and I will pass on your details to Salma.
If you know Salma personally, then of course she would be delighted to hear from you direct.
The link for The Asian Today article is at the top of this page.

GREAT WHITE SHARKS RESULTS 2011/12 SEASON

GREAT WHITE SHARKS RESULTS 2011/12 SEASON
BIRMINGHAM WOMEN'S FUTSAL LEAGUE
Nov 9 - Fresh of the Fold - LOST 2-7
Nov 16 - Midlands Deaf Ladies FC - DREW 5-5
Nov 23 - Birmingham United Ladies B - WON 10-4
Nov 30 - Stingers B - DREW 1-1
Dec 07 - Birmingham United B  - DREW 8-8
Dec 14 - Fresh of the Fold - DREW 7-7
Dec 21 - Midland Deaf Ladies FC - LOST 2-3
Jan 04 - Stingers B - LOST 5-9
Jan 04 - Birmingham United B - WON 13-9
PLAYED: 9
WON: 2
DRAWN: 4
LOST: 3
GOALS FOR: 53
GOALS AGAINST: 53

SQUAD: Salma Bi (c), Ambreen Akhtar, Aisha Bi, Anisha Bi, Camilla Rehman, Farzana Hussain, Nahilla Khatoon, Nazma Shaheen.

AN INTERVIEW WITH FOOTBALLER KAID MOHAMED

FOOTBALLER KAID MOHAMED is getting ready for the biggest game of his career this weekend.

Kaid, 27, will be in the Cheltenham Town squad which travels to mighty Tottenham Hotspur for an FA Cup third round tie on Saturday.

It will be the latest adventure in the career of the Cardiff-born striker, who is helping Cheltenham's charge for promotion from Football League Two.

With the media spotlight on the Cheltenham squad intense this week, Kaid still found time to talk to the GREAT WHITE SHARKS BLOG.

GWS: Greetings Kaid. First of all, can you tell us about your Muslim background?

KM: I'm not a practising Muslim, but my name's Mohamed, the Muslim faith is in my ancestry and I'm proud of that.

GWS: This blog is about the Great White Sharks, the first Asian-Muslim female futsal team to be formed in Birmingham. Are you impressed by this?

KM: Definitely. It's great to hear about things like this happening. I hope this will encourage other Asian-Muslim teams to form, the more females involved in football the better. I watched the Women's World Cup and saw so many gifted players perform, I reckon some of those teams would give Cheltenham Town a run for their money!

GWS: You have been active in supporting the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign in football. The racism issue is highly topical at present with Liverpool's Luis Suarez receiving an eight-game ban for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra. Do you have a view on the Suarez ban?

KM: I think Suarez deserved all he got. He's obviously been banned for a reason. He claimed the term he used is acceptable where he's from (Uruguay) but where he's from is a different world. There's no place for racism in football wherever in the world you play and I hope this ban will have the right effect.

GWS: Quite a bit of your earlier career was spent playing in the Welsh Premier League. How do you feel about the way the league has changed, now operating with 12 teams instead of 18?

KM: I thought the league was better with more teams. Playing the same teams three or four times in one season is not ideal in my book. I have a lot of friends still playing in the WPL, including Paul Fowler of Neath, and still keep a close eye on results.

GWS: On to this weekend. Mighty Tottenham Hotspur v Cheltenham Town, FA Cup third round - can you quite believe it?

KM: Not really, it will be the biggest game of my career. Spurs are the in-form team of the Premier League and this game will be our own cup final.

GWS: Are you looking forward to coming up against Wales international Gareth Bale?

KM: Definitely. I don't know him personally, but I'm sure I will after Saturday. He's a player who likes to run with the ball at his feet like me and is a fantastic talent. He's also a Cardiff lad like me so we have that in common.

GWS: Do you think Cheltenham can win promotion to League One this season?

KM: Yes, definitely. We're playing well, we're on a good run, and we're second in the (League Two) table. There's a good squad here with a good spirit, the manager's well respected and there's a great feel about the place.

GWS: And finally, do you have a message for the Great White Sharks?

KM: I wish them all the best. I hope what they're doing can inspire other female Muslim teams to start playing. I hope the Sharks will do well in their league and achieve what they set out to do.

KAID MOHAMED FACTFILE

Full Name: Kaid Yusef Mohamed

Born: Cardiff, July 23, 1984

Height: 5ft 11

Position: Winger/Striker

Current club: Cheltenham Town

Number: 23

Previous clubs: Cwmbran Town, Llanelli, Carmarthen Town, Swindon Town (2007-08), Torquay United (loan - 2008), Forest Green Rovers (2008-09), Newport County (loan - 2009), Bath City (2009-11), AFC Wimbledon (2011), Cheltenham Town (2011-)

Honours: Welsh Cup winner (with Carmarthen Town, scored two in the final) 2007, Conference South play-off winner (with Bath City, scored winner in the final) 2010, Conference National play-off winner (with AFC Wimbledon) 2011.

LINK: Interview with Kaid (option 9)  http://wn.com/kaid

GREAT WHITE SHARKS FUTSAL TEAM NOW COMES UP ON FIRST PAGE OF GOOGLE SEARCH (UNDER GREAT WHITE SHARKS)

(SEE BELOW)

MEET THE GREAT WHITE SHARKS FUTSAL TEAM!

great-white-sharks.blogspot.com/.../meet-great-white-sharks-futsal-te...

22 Dec 2011 – MEET THE GREAT WHITE SHARKS FUTSAL TEAM! THIS year season 2011/ 2012 at the Birmingham International Futsal Arena, Europe's ...

FACTS ABOUT GREAT WHITE SHARKS

Picture: Horace the Shark sings his latest song "Forever Jaws" for his many fins

FACTS ABOUT GREAT WHITE SHARKS

Famous golfer Greg Norman is nicknamed the Great White Shark

Great White Sharks are the largest predatory fish in the sea.

Great White Shark meat is not recommended for human consumption because it has very high mercury levels.

Great White Sharks try to avoid fighting for food. When there is only enough food for one, they have a tail-slapping contest.

Great White sharks live along the coasts of all continents except Antarctica.

A Great White Shark may use and lose more than one thousand teeth in its life time.

The Great White Shark is not all white. The shark’s back may be dark blue, gray, brown or black.

The Great White Shark lives for about 25 years.

A Great White Shark is capable of eating sea lions whole.

Great White Sharks rarely attack people and when they do, it is because they mistaken the person for their usual seal prey.

Scientists estimate that after a big meal, a Great White Shark can last up to three months before needing another one.

The biggest Great White Shark ever caught was off Prince Edward Island in 1993. It was 20 feet long.

In one year, a single Great White consumes about 11 tons of food.

Some scientists believe there are less than 10,000 Great White Sharks in the entire world.

Great White Sharks breed late in life. They do not start breeding until they’re at least twenty years old.

More than 70 percent of known victims of Great White Shark Attacks survive because the shark realizes it has made a mistake and doesn’t finish off the prey.