Football fever has caught up among youth ahead of the much-awaited FIFA soccer world cup in Brazil beginning next month.
Unmindful of the harsh summer heat, hundreds of boys throng the sprawling ABM college grounds here, to pick up the nuances of the game which requires a lot of stamina.
Brazil is the hot favourite for these boys, says camp chief coach and Prakasam District Soccer Association secretary K. David Raju while talking to The Hindu taking time in between during his hectic coaching schedule.
International soccer player K.Susan Babu and nationals Roger Benny, T. Edison and T. Pradeep honed the skills of the boys at the summer camp organised by the PDSA in collaboration with the Cloughpet Youth Association and the National Yuva Kendra .
The coaches impressed the boys by narrrating the heroic exploits of soccer greats like Ronaldo, this year’s projected star player Neymar as also Pele, the best Brazilian footballer of all time.
“We want to be famous players one day,” says one of the budding players of a group after a tiring session of practice at the ABM grounds which had produced many nationals in the past.
Lauding the efforts of the coaches, lanky Prakasam Principal District judge A. Radhakrishna, himself a good football player during school, joined the boys in kicking the football around for some time.
Playing soccer will help perform well in studies too, added District Revenue Officer G. Gangadhar Goud, a regular visitor to the grounds for morning walk.
