What do you actually get through an 'award' anyway, is it just a 'sponsor' and some work experience to make you eligible for a visa or does the sponsor actually pay for the course/accommodation or whatever? Looking on the website for awards from Pakistan nothing seems to show up like this anyway (admittedly it was a very cursory look and I know feck all about Visas etc).
Likewise the thing quoted suggests STFC are offering 'one award'? Is that just for one person?
I imagine their website bods are scratching their heads why there is suddenly so much interest in these scholarships from the Swindon area?
Don't quote me on the funding element, for the actual "course", but as I understand it, that is likely a Govt deal with the scholarship company, so the individual doesn't pay for the course. Whether or not STFC has to give anything towards it I do not know, my original understanding (which was for the football scholarships, which this may have morphed into) was that we had to Sponsor the course, like a company would need to sponsor an employee. We may be on the hook for any admin/legal fees on this side of the world if that was so.
Now, in Pakistan, all bets are off - this is where Zav can make some dosh using the good name of STFC. By using STFC as a Sponsor, and then getting the official seal of approval on the course being run by a Uni and backed by the Govt, he can tout Visa's in Pakistan. He can use whatever qualifications he chooses to filter potential candidates - such as footballing talent or, much more likely, money. If it's like other Visa's, there may be the benefit of this being a trojan horse style Visa, where you can bring trailing family. Of course, every family member will need legal representation and consultancy fees and application fees in Pakistan etc. (this is entirely legal and pretty common - it cost my company more than $30k in fees to get my family and me to the USA for example, under a very strict immigration process). As I am now a Permanent Resident, I have pathways to getting more family here if I wished to pursue them, like going for Citizenship. There are plenty of people in the industry willing to help me, for a fee.
This was a fairly obvious reason for creating a new club in Karachi, rather than using an actual one.
And again, everything listed above is entirely legal. It's ethically dodgy, but hundreds of thousands of people are involved in such activity every day around the globe as people have a great desire to travel.
