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Kolkata, Dec 6: Harbouring dreams of making a career in football, four Kolkata kids from humble backgrounds, are ecstatic at their dream come true of representing India at the Premier League Christmas Truce International tournament in Belgium.
The tournament to be played in Ypres, Belgium Dec 13-14, has been organised by the English Premier League, to mark 100 years since British and German soldiers put down their guns and started playing an impromptu game of football in no man's land on Christmas Day 1914 in Flanders, Belgium.
"Christmas truce" is a term used to describe a series of unofficial cessations of hostilities that occurred along the Western Front during Christmas 1914.
Trained under the Kolkata Goalz, a global collaborative project between the EPL and the British Council, the two boys Rohid Hussain and Abdul Arbaz and two girls Sneha Singh and Jhuma Samaddar will play in a community tournament to commemorate the sacrifices made by soldiers from around the world.
Children from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Canada will participate in the tournament in which the boys will be playing in under-16 while the girls will play under-18 formats.
This tournament a realization of many desires
"I was fascinated by football since an early age and it is a dream come true that I will be representing India at the tournament. Hopefully, it will pave the way for the realisation of my ultimate dream of becoming a professional footballer," said Rohid who aspires to play for Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Atletico de Kolkata.
Sneha Singh, who is equally adept in karate and football, says her selection for the tournament has made her realise that there is nothing a woman can't achieve.
"Girls are often considered a liability by the society and I always had this desire to show that I can do something to make my parents proud. This tournament is realisation of that desire. I hope I can someday play for the Indian team," said Sneha who stresses on the need for martial art training for all girls.
The four footballers during the day were felicitated by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation which along with the city police, nine Kolkata Premier League clubs, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Indian Football Association (IFA) are partners in the Kolkata Goalz programme that started in 2011 for children aged 12 to 18.
Accompanied by coach Kuntala Ghosh Dastidar, the children will arrive at Brussels Dec 11 where besides playing in the tournament, they will visit the original Christmas truce site, Commonwealth and German war graves and witness the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate.
