Where football’s a way of life

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The J&K team’s Imran Butt tries to get the better of a Tamil Nadu player during the Slum Soccer tournament in New Delhi.

Nineteen-year old Imran Butt cannot forget the two days he spent in Srinagar jail six years ago allegedly for stone pelting.

He was disturbed by the way he had been picked up and it was only his love for football and the efforts of the Slum Soccer organisation that helped him re-group and provide his life with direction.
Imran’s story is representative of the hardship the 100-odd players participating in ongoing National Slum Soccer tournament being played at the Ambedkar Stadium in the capital.
The team from Sonagachi, Kolkata consists of children of sex worker from Kolkata’s red light area, while the boys from Bengaluru face a daily struggle to make ends meet. But all that is forgotten when they take the field for a game of football.
“I was innocent and was released only after sustained community pressure,” said Imran, who travelled to Sao Paulo, Brazil, last year to train with foreign coaches.
The youngster was picked by Argentine coach Juan Carloz and today he is a certified coach who runs a football academy for 40 underprivileged children in Rainawai.
“Though I am still studying (currently in Standard XIth), I want to encourage these kids to not take upto terrorism and instead make them feel privileged by engaging them in playing football,” he adds.
He and his teammates are enjoying themselves in the capital and living up every moment they are getting to spend with other youngsters.
The Slum Soccer tournament, organised by Nagpur based NGO, Slum Soccer-Krida Vikas Sansthan, is held only for underprivileged youth with the best eight in the tournament going on to represent India in the Homeless World Cup, where 63 nations participate every year. The 2013 Homeless World Cup will be played in Poland.
Explaining the rationale behind hosting the tournament in New Delhi, Dr Abhijeet Barse, CEO of Slum Soccer-Krida Vikas Sansthan said, “New Delhi is not just the national capital but the venue is emotionally close to all football lovers in the country. This will also be a huge leap for these youngsters to play at this ground.”
In all 10 teams are participating in the tournament.
The Sonagachi boys have finally found recognition thanks to their prowess in football. “We were looked down upon when people came to know our background but today, because of football, people have started accepting and respecting us,” says Bengal team captain Surojit Bhattacharya.