Ranchi
It is not every day that you see disciplined groups of young boys and girls in sportswear being professionally trained by coaches in Jharkhand’s remote backyards. But for the last few months, it has become a common sight in several blocks of two districts.
That a silent movement is taking shape in these parts of the State is unmissable as you observe the youngsters going about the rigours of training in all seriousness under the watchful eyes of their coaches.
Scouted from among the hundreds who turned up in the trials in the different blocks of Ranchi and Ramgarh districts, the 100 footballers — mostly tribals — with potential are now part of NGO Asha’s ‘Project Football’ — sponsored by the Ranchi-headquartered Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), a subsidiary of coal major Coal India Ltd (CIL), as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The Project, “promising to develop a vibrant sports culture in Jharkhand”, was enthusiastically backed by CIL CMD P.M. Prasad, who had first taken interest in it when he was the CMD of CCL.
“The one-year Project started in November last year. It is being implemented in Ranchi and Ramgarh, which fall under the CCL’s command areas. The one-year project is for 50 boys and 50 girls in the age group of 10-18 years, when they can be trained the best and their skills honed to the maximum,” Ladi Balakrishna, CCL’s former General Manager, CSR, during whose tenure the project was sanctioned, tells The Indian Tribal. He retired on January 31, this year.
What stands out, as per Association for Social and Human Awareness (Asha) Secretary Ajay Jaiswal, is the fact that those selected have tremendous passion for the game and dream to make it big for themselves, for their families, for the State and for the nation.
At the Nagri Jatra Ground in Kanke, Rohan Munda and Rohini Kujur, both 16-year-olds, have been exemplary. Jaiswal tells The India Tribal that Rohan is “mad” about football and the young talent smiles sheepishly. “I want to earn laurels for my State and India,” he asserts about his dream and dashes off.
And daughter of a farmer, Rohini, who is a Class XI Arts student, doesn’t miss out on the sessions. “I want to be a good defender. I come here daily after my school and after finishing all the household chores,” says Rohini, who has four siblings.
And all of 10 years, Nidhi Toppo idolises Argentinian great Lionel Messi. “I want to become a striker like Messi. I like scoring goals,” she says beamingly belying all the hardships she and her family face every day after the sole bread winner of the house, her father, died. Her mother now does farm work to sustain the family.
“In all, the Project aims to have 600 secondary or indirect beneficiaries. The 100 primary beneficiaries, who will be trained during the one-year period, are expected to train another 600 footballers with potential,” Jaiswal points out.
The Project entails organizing awareness and selection campaigns and camps in sample blocks of Ranchi and Ramgarh besides in schools and colleges, conducting coaching clinics and camps, organising tournaments and competitions at block, district and State levels and lastly, making efforts to get the trained footballers enroll in Sports Authority of India (SAI) centres or facilitate their placements in professional clubs.
The CCL-sponsored Project has provision for every nitty-gritty — sportswear, sports gear, training equipment, refreshment for trainees and even those coming for trials, transportation, coaching, conditioning, recreational activities like a group lunch or dinner (to develop bonding among the trainees), a film or a magic show, newspapers and periodicals et al, Jaiswal lists out.
“The program also aims to contribute to the socio-economic well-being of the trainees and beneficiaries. By imparting valuable skills and knowledge, the program seeks to enhance their employability and income-generating potential,” Jaiswal emphasises.
“To get the best results, according to me, at least two of years of sustained campaign is needed,” he avers.
