8 NGO teams to participate in Golden Touch tournament

Photo: Rohin Modi

Mumbai, April 7:

Young footballers from eight sports oriented non-profit organization teams from across Mumbai will be seen kicking around during the inaugural edition of The Golden Touch Tournament for under-16 kids and is scheduled to be played at the Hotfut South United Sports Arena in Dadar West, Mumbai on Sunday, April 9. The action will commence at 7.30 am.

The Golden Touch Tournament is a community initiative to work with sports focused non-profit organizations and will provide an opportunity for children between the age-group of 14-16 years to showcase their skills and talent.

An initiative of 16-year-old Rohin Modi, a football enthusiast, who has been a passionate player since the age of 5 years, the tournament aims to contribute to the development of the sport and inculcate sportsmanship values amongst the children. It is a platform where the children compete with better playing facilities and it inspires an affinity toward football. Rohin aims to bring a quality of healthy competition and bring together and create a community of like-minded people from similar backgrounds, in the hope of developing future sports champions.

The vision is to contribute toward the growth of the sport and the all-round development of the child, by helping them enhance their tactics, fitness, ability, adaptability and experience. As a token of encouragement, each member of the winning team will get vouchers to purchase sports merchandise, to provide them access to quality equipment which will ensure safety and further enhance their skill.

Speaking about his goals, Rohin says, “I am very humbled to see the participation and excitement amongst the children, and I look forward to the tournament where I will also share a few of my learnings of the game. It will be a great opportunity for me to learn from them as well and understand deeply their ambitions and dreams outside of football.”

The eight participating teams are Just For Kicks (4 teams), Aadhaar Prathisthan, South United Sports Community, Jeet Foundation and Leher Foundation.

Below is a list of participating NGO’s:  

Aadhaar Pratishthan: Based in Colaba with an aim of addressing various problems, the· organization has football grassroots clinics in around Colaba to encourage the sport. It helped protesting against a local MLA who wanted to convert the Famous Back Garden near Regal into a swimming pool.  

South United Sports Community: The Dharavi community team is a group of children between· the age of 7 and 16. The children have grown up in the area; and belong to less-privileged families. Over the last 3 years, SUSF has trained these children in football, as enhanced their values and social skills. Some of the older children have now taken up jobs to supplement their family income, with some even aspiring to play football professionally.  

Just For Kicks (JFK): JFK believes in implementing life skills based annual football programs for· under-resourced schools across India (Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, rural Karnataka). With the simple idea 'Everyone Plays', JFK builds essential life skills, football and fitness skills, and unearths some of the brightest talents in the country through its national leagues and scouting system. 4 teams representing JFK from different parts of Mumbai (Colaba, Byculla, Wadala and Chembur) will be participating in The Golden Touch Tournament.  

Jeet Foundation: Jeet was started with an objective to provide outdoor sport as a positive option· for youth living in the slums. They provide life-skill education and organize tournaments to inculcate socialization in the community. Their noble mission is youth empowerment and community development through sport.  

Leher Foundation: Leher invests their efforts in trying to address issues like education etc,· especially through the medium of football. They believe that even though the resources required for the game are relatively less, the game provides a strong value base. It teaches the children various life skills like teamwork, leadership etc. A sport also speaks a universal language that is able to emotionally combine and unite groups. Thus through the medium of sports, the aim is to touch and empower the lives of many of this city’s underprivileged children.

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