Cristiano Ronaldo inspires Indian slum dweller to Homeless World Cup glory

Parthiban, hero of the Homeless Soccer WC idolises Cristiano Ronaldo

Parthiban Parthasarathy cannot stop smiling and why should he not? The 23-year old has just returned from the Homeless Soccer World Cup in Amsterdam, after representing India and is brimming with hopes and dreams. Parthiban’s motivation to play the sport comes from his love for arguably one of the world’s finest footballers, Cristiano Ronaldo.

The hero from Chennai is back home from the tournament, which saw nations such as defending champions Chile partipcipate, among 47 other nations. He doesn’t have ideal football grounds to practice but for Parthiban, none of it matters. His sole focus is on the sport.

Cricket, somehow, never attracted me the way football did: Parthiban

Parthiban who idolises the Portuguese football star, Cristiano Ronaldo said how the sport changed his life. It was a “life-changing opportunity” he said to The Hindu, and a dream come true. “It was the first time I went abroad; travelled on a plane. It was such a wonderful experience,” says Parthiban, who plays for the Chennai Slum Soccer team and now coaches younger players as well. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved playing football. Even as a child, I would spend hours kicking the ball around with my friends and play a match with the neighbourhood boys. Cricket, somehow, never attracted me the way football did,” adds the youngster.

And does he not like Messi? “Messi is good too, but he only uses left moves, while Ronaldo is good with both left and right leg moves,” he expressed. He tries to watch as many matches as possible on Youtube.

In 2009, Parthiban began to professionally play the sport. His coach at school sent him for State-level selections and that was his first encounter with professional football. Like most slum-dwellers in India, he did not own a pair of football shoes and would play barefoot. Seeing how talented Parthiban was, his brother-in-law bought him his first pair of shoes and encouraged him to pursue his dreams.

He was playing with the ball one day, and as fortune would have it, he was spotted by Subramanium Sir. He invited him to play with the children he coached at St. Bede’s ground. “Being able to play with school children, giving them tips and having them look up to us made me feel confident. Nobody would otherwise encourage us,” he explains.

It was during these sessions with the children that the Ronaldo fan got noticed by Umesh of Slum Soccer Nagpur, who had come to Chennai to talent-scout and develop the team. “He told us about the Homeless World Cup and the opportunities it opened up. But I didn’t really understand the concept much, so I got Subramaniam sir to meet him, who then explained how much we stood to gain,” he explains.

Parthiban was drafted in the Indian men’s team that was going to represent India in Amsterdam. “We left for Amsterdam on September 9 and were there for nine days. Though we didn’t win the World Cup, we finished in the 33rd place and also won the Sports Gen Cup,” he said. He further added, “My family was thrilled that I went abroad. Most of us have never even gone out of the city. I hope, one day, I can take my mother somewhere abroad. I know it will mean a lot to her.”

The footballer profusely thanks his family and colleagues for this once in a lifetime oppurtunity. “My office has been very encouraging and gave me two months leave to prepare for and participate in the Homeless World Cup, apart from time off to play local matches.” Parthasarathy, who got married three months ago, praised his wife for being supportive. “Even my wife didn’t mind me being away for so long. We are childhood sweethearts and she knows all about my aspirations. I brought back chocolates for her from Amsterdam,” he admitted.

The Homeless World Cup’s motto is to thrive in life despite homelessness

The Homeless World Cup aims to help youngsters to build confidence and self-belief. Their motto is to not exist because there shouldn’t be any homelessness in the first place. Their participants come from underprivileged sections of society, comprising mainly youngsters living in slums or on government land, those displaced because of natural disasters, and children of sex workers.

What started in 2003 in Graz, Austria, with just 18 countries, the Homeless World Cup today partners 74 countries with others eager to join. Mel Young, President, Homeless World Cup sees a clear trend in how the tournament is making an impact by breaking stereotypes. The work that he and his team are doing seems fairly simple: getting kids off the street and making them play football.

In India, Abhijeet Barse has set out on this noble task. His father founded ‘Slum Soccer’ in 2001 in Nagpur to offer sporting opportunities and personal development programs to disadvantaged young people across India. Slum Soccer’s objective is to reach out to underprivileged Indians and use football as a tool for social empowerment.

Parthiban is only one of the success stories and we hope that there will be more. For now, the football-lover wants to work towards improving the P.M. Nagar ground in Chennai and conducting summer workshops for children. “I owe a lot to Akshay Madhavan, who heads Slum Soccer here. He’s always made me feel like an equal; he always has a warm hug to give us instead of a mere handshake,” he says.