Lahore, 3 August: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)'s President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, MNA, has dedicated Best Women Player Award of National Women Football Championship to unfortunate Diya FC’s midfielder Misha Dawood who was aboard the ill-fated Airblue airliner that crashed in the hills overlooking Islamabad on 28 July morning." It will be known as the "Misha Dawood Trophy" from now on in the annual National Women Championship," said Faisal and added that "It’s difficult to think that Misha is no more in the playing arena and it is a big disappointment for her colleagues and women football family."
A one minutes silence was observed before the start of the match between Diya FC-Punjab Group-A tie at the Jinnah Stadium on the day of air crash to pay tribute to Misha and same thing happened at Karachi later in the night when Karachi Energy faced Islamabad United in the second semi-final of the Super Football League at the Peoples Sports Complex, Karachi.
Misha rose to prominence two years ago when she scored a hat-trick against Sindh Soccerities in the inaugural National Women Football Club Championship 2008 at Colony Sports Stadium, Malir Town.
A second year student in University of California, Berkeley Misha was upcoming soccer player, dedicated student. She was called "Maradona" by her teammates, after the famous Argentine player and coach Diego Maradona - was on her way to join the Diya Club for the sixth National Women Football Championship when the plane crashed .
"She was probably one of the most brilliant people I've known," said Mariam Laghari, a clubmate of Misha. "She knew exactly how to make you laugh and no matter what, when you were with her, you'd always be smiling. That was the best thing about her."
Daughter of Ghaffar Dawood and Zeb, Misha was born at Lahore on 21 August 1990. She moved to Karachi when she was in primary and later on attended the Karachi American School until ninth grade before moving to the Karachi Grammar School (KGS). After graduating from the KGS in 2009, Misha journeyed to Berkeley, fulfilling a lifelong dream. She continued to feed her passion for sports in Berkeley, practicing yoga daily and joining Rowing - the women's lightweight crew team mid-year.
This summer, she intended to travel with her parents and siblings, but changed her plans at the eleventh hour to join Diya FC for the 12-team championship. She was younger to sister Ayesha, brother Hamad and elder to young Abdul Samad.
What was beautiful about Misha was that she wasn't jaded," said Diya FC head Sadias Sheikh."She was a very graceful, dignified, elegant person - humble and down to earth. She wanted to believe in the good in the world. She honestly believed that one person could make a difference. It was something that was just phenomenal about her."
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