“The FC Mumbaikar award especially to be given to the players of Mumbai, who have been playing from ground level and its club encourages it in such a manner is great. I myself am in the board of central government, wherein we are encouraging ‘Khelo India’ a concept to identify a person who has talent but has never got an opportunity to play on the ground in order to train them for performing at Olympics and National tournaments. The FCM awards is encouraging a player from its very beginning,” said VP BJP Mrs. Rani Dwivedi who herself is a former hockey player.
Aman Khanna, an upcoming player in the under-16 category, was also rewarded with a momento of recognition for his consistent performance in the game. Aman Khanna is touted as one of the star players in the Indian under-16 division’s dribbling circuit, with a powerful essay of long range efforts. Aman is not only a good footballer but also excels in his academics. The young footballer from Maneckji Cooper recently scored 92% in ICSE board exams.
Football player Steven Dias expressed his happiness over the FCM’s initiative to award the young players. Explaining his point he said, “It is a difficult task to build something from scratch. However, if these players are trained from their initial stages, these players will definitely rise to greater platform and might even represent the country in future.”
This initiative by FCM will not only promote the young talents in process of becoming good players but will also attract several parents to promote their children to play football.
On June 2, Saturday, the Football Club of Mumbaikars held an award function in order to promote young talents by rewarding players for seven years of excellence in football, in presence of Vice-President BJP (Mumbai), Member of Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Mrs. Rani Dwivedi. Along with Dwivedi, football players Steven Dias, Sujata Kar and India’s only FIFA-certified woman referee, Maria Rebello also encouraged the budding footballers with their presence.