Twitter
Advertisement

From Mumbai slums to London, dream comes true for city footballers

Apart from getting international exposure, the boys will get to train under experts in a world-class facility

Latest News
article-main
(L-R) Sunil Mohan, Sitaram Rathod and Sunil Tulsiram with coaches (standing behind L-R) Chris Ramsay and Alexander Carroll.
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

In the winding lanes of Ambedkar Nagar slums, tucked behind the World Trade Centre, the dreams of three budding footballers are coming true. Sunil Mohan Rathod, 14, Sunil Tulsiram Rathod, 13, Sitaram Rathod, 13, have been selected from among 6,000 children from all over Mumbai to go abroad and train under a famed football club’s coaches.

It all started when the three boys tried their luck at the annual Milind Deora Soccer championship in January 2015, a football tournament where 6,000 children from all over Mumbai, belonging to 36 schools, participated in the Under-14 and Under-19 categories. At the tournament, scouts from football club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) evaluated the performance of the young players and shortlisted three children who they will take to London to give expert and intensive training in football.

Sitaram is all set to leave for London whenever the visa arrives. The boy, who looks younger than boys his age, is both positive and confident about the experience he will get there.

“The training will go on in London from April 22 to May 25. Chris Ramsay and Alexander Carroll, the QPR scouts who came to India, told me that we will be training 45-50 other footballers from all over the world. I don’t know how to prepare for this trip. The only preparation I will do is to pack warm clothes,” smiled Sitaram.

He has been a part of Oscar foundation for three years and has played tournaments all over Mumbai and in Bangalore. He had joined the foundation as a 10-year-old against his father’s wish.

“My father wanted to me to continue tuitions and get better in studies. I told him that I want to play football and if he let me, I would score more marks that I would if I study under the guidance of a tutor,” he said. Sitaram then went on to become the school games captain at Holy Name School, Colaba.

Meanwhile, team Oscar has faced its share of challenges too. Ashok Rathod, one of the members of Oscar Foundation, the organisation that gave football training to the three boys, said, “Opportunity knocked at their doorstep and they could have almost lost it. Ever since the boys got shortlisted in January, we started the process of getting passports made. Getting the spellings of their names corrected alone took 20 days. Then, we had a hard time getting a reference letter from an official. No one was ready to trust the boys or their families owing to the fact that they belonged to a slum. We went to the collector, the BMC education secretary, MLAs and ministers, but no one helped us. Finally, Ravindra Shisave, DCP, Zone I, agreed to give a reference letter, and started the due verification process. After almost 1.5 months, we finally got all the passports. Visa applications have been sent now.”

Sitaram’s family of slum-dwellers spent Rs 7,000 on the name-change procedure and passport procedure.

Another hurdle was the lack of space available for practising. Training could be held only once a week at Oval Maidan for two hours. “The president of Cuffe Parade Residents Association (CPRA) did not let us use their garden for practice. We were ready to pay to use the garden premises. But they were just apprehensive about letting slum kids enter the park. People often think that slum kids would go into a park, create chaos and then leave. However, if these three weren’t as disciplined as they are, they wouldn’t have been as dedicated to the game or as good at it,” said Ashok. Sadly, a lot of football practice is done on footpaths and pavements as of now.

Apart from getting international exposure, the boys will get to train under experts in a world-class facility. After they return from London, Sitaram, Sunil Mohan and Sunil Tulsiram will continue playing football and representing Oscar at various tournaments. After a few years, Sitaram wants to coach boys who join Oscar. He also hopes to appear in the trials for Mumbai Football Club.

For more stories from across India, visit iamini.in

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement