Slum kids chase their dream through soccer

Raised in humble backgrounds amidst acute poverty in the city, these aspiring footballers are set to represent the country in the Donosti Cup, an international youth soccer tournament, incepted in 1992, to be held in Spain from July 3 to 9. Team Dream Footers will play in the U-12 category. 

The talented young boys were handpicked from the Gamesa Soccer League (GSL) – a sports-for-development initiative by Gamesa and Slum Soccer – a Nagpur-based NGO developing football in the grassroots for over a decade. 

The squad comprises boys from Chennai, Kolkata, Tuticorin, Nagpur and Gudalur in the Nilgiris. When two square meals a day were at a premium, the boys let their imaginations run wild and took inspiration from other senior boys practicing football in neighbourhood grounds. With small footsteps, they took a giant leap of faith when Slum Soccer organised trials a couple of months back. At 13, VS Tamilmani is the eldest in the team that has 13 players from Tamil Nadu. 

After watching Argentine talisman Lionel Messi play, Tamilmani took up football instantly. “It was Messi’s dribbling skills that left me in awe. I try to imitate him and when Slum Soccer spotted me during trials, I was instantly selected as a forward,” he said. A Zechariah Jonathan had to do a lot of convincing to get his parents understand what he was trying to do. 

“My parents do not know what the game is all about. They thought I was just another child carried away by dreams. I showed them videos and took them to my training session to understand what I was really up to and they are proud today,” he added. 

The organisation brought an able hand in Stepan Ermakov, a licensed coach and an economics professor from Russia to mentor the team. With two sessions a day for over a month, Stepan knows the boys will make a difference. “They have learnt discipline, respect etc; things that were unheard of in them. They have become better people and the gaming skills flow naturally because of their interest,” he said.