In a major boost for local football in Mumbai, IDBI Federal Life Insurance announced on Tuesday, that they will be extending their support for all 40 football centers across Mumbai, stretching from Churchgate to Thane, Juhu to Powai, Lower Parel to Vashi. Each of the centres will impart advanced scientific training to these aspiring youngsters in the hope of producing tomorrow’s footballers.
The brainchild of KheloMore, project ‘Football Mania’ will also witness the centres and local football clubs compete in a high-profile tournament every Sunday that will aim at testing and sharpening their skills on the field.
As many as 170 teams will be vying for superiority over the next few months in two different formats: 6-a-side and 7-a-side. So far, two hundred certified football coaches have been roped in for the programme and an exhaustive training and competition model has been charted out to mould the kids, including many girls, into well-rounded footballers.
India’s top coach, Dronacharya Awardee and Chief National Coach of the Indian badminton team, Dr. Pullela Gopichand, held a mentoring workshop for the coaches on Tuesday, stressing on the importance of discipline, hard work and sportsmanship. Gopichand is also the Project Head of the IDBI Federal Quest For Excellence programme.
Indian kids are highly talented and could excel in every sport. With the right training, coaching and guidance at the right time, they can become world-beaters,” Gopichand said.
“We need to build a sporting ecosystem and I commend Football Mania for attempting to plug this gap in Mumbai,” he added.
In the meantime, Jatin Paranjpe, the CEO and Founder of Khelomore stated that they are glad that IDBI Federal Life Insurance has agreed to come on board with the project. he said that as a country, Indian players have a lot of potential in football but due to lack of exposure and good training at the grassroots, they are not able to receive enough opportunities for being a high-class football player.
He added that through Football Mania, Khelomore aims to change that and create a system which will allow them to spot talent early, give them proper guidance to turn them into the champions of tomorrow.
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