In 2011, Slum Soccer operated from a poky little office on Lazarus Church Road at Santhome.
Four years on, it functions at an office on First Cross Street, R.K. Nagar that is four times bigger. This spatial difference illustrates the expansion of Slum Soccer, a voluntary organisation that teaches youngsters life skills by engaging with them through football. This NGO’s shift to a bigger space is indicative of larger growth — that of football in the city.
Football in Chennai has many things going for it. With the advent of the Indian Super League (ISL), the city’s youngsters now have footballers with a ‘glocal’ identity as idols. Chennaiyin FC, the city’s very own football team in ISL, has visited schools in the city, whipping up a passion for the sport. Many schools are holding football academies, some of which are helmed by former footballers. Facilities for football keep coming up, sometimes in unbelievably attractive ways.
R. Mohanakrishnan, who was goalkeeper to Tamil Nadu in many a national football tournament between 1964 and 1972, points out that children from Corporation schools are benefitting from an AstroTurf football facility created at a Corporation school in MGR Nagar.
“Besides students at this institution, children from other Corporation schools are brought to this ground and coached in football,” Mr. Mohanakrishnan adds.
“Individually, retired footballers are holding coaching programmes.”
The demand for coaching is the result of an increase in football tournaments for youngsters, especially schoolgoers. In fact, this very weekend, the Chennai leg of a nationwide tournament will be conducted. Called ‘Star Sports Young Heroes,’ it seeks to identify promising footballers under the age of 15 by casting the net across 650 schools in 15 Indian cities.
According to a press release by the organisers, the programme is expected to reach 4,20,000 students. The note further says that 45 students will be selected for special coaching. Out of this, 16 will be sent to Spain to cut their football teeth with the advantage of having international coaches, it adds.
Akshay Vishnu Madhavan, chief operating officer, Slum Soccer, believes football has got a major foothold in Chennai.
“Earlier, if we missed a few days and went back, we would see that the children had gone back to playing cricket. Now, whenever we return after a break of few days, we see them still playing football,” says Mr. Madhavan.
The fact that football is being used as a tool for social reform is what is partly helping it expand in the city.
“Benefits of the Slum Soccer programmes are evident to everyone. The children are given addiction awareness, environmental awareness and they are taught financial literacy,” says Mr. Madhavan. Due to the noticeable social change such programmes effect, corporates feel encouraged to come on board, a factor that indirectly helps the sport.
Street children are also touched by reform programmes centred on football.
For them, the zenith is participation in what is called the Street Child World Cup and the hope of a better future.
“The last edition of the Steet Child World Cup, which takes place once in four years and follows the FIFA World Cup, was conducted in Brazil. Twenty countries participated, which included a team from India,” says Paul Sunder Singh, secretary of Karunalaya.
Street Child Football is aimed at challenging the negative perceptions about street children, make them aware of their rights and help them overcome negative traits and imbibe noble values, Mr. Singh says.
A synergistic approach among NGOs working in this space seems to be contributing to the effectiveness of social exercises carried out with the help of football.
“We associate with Slum Soccer, because they help us identify the children who could be part of the programme. They conduct tournaments for our children. Sometime ago, a tournament patterned on Homeless World Cup was conducted at Besant Nagar,” Mr. Singh says.
At the end of the day, what warms the heart is that there are no losers. Only winners. One of those winners towers over the rest — that is the sport of football.
Football has proved to be an effective tool for social transformation
