It may take quite a few more years for India to make a mark in the world stage, but nobody can demean the sheer enthusiasm of the players, fans or any football fanatic here. The wondrous culture this country portrays, respecting the beautiful game, is well known all over. While we have been busy supporting our favorite players in the Copa America and Euro 2016 this year, a phenomenal story remains less highlighted for the Indians to boast off.
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The transfer window is on, and millions are spent each day across the world on many players, some of whom have struggled hard from their tender age to stamp their authority among the football crazy fans. There are hundreds of stories faming poverty stricken footballers who have beaten crimes and various challenging issues to finally pursue their dream of playing in Europe.
Here is a story of 16 such Indian boys whose journey so far has been no less inspiring than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexis Sanchez and Luis Suarez to name a few. The Dana Cup, a lesser known international youth tournament, has paved the way for them.
Each year, the tournament is held at Denmark on the last week of July, where hundreds of team across the world participates. This year an Indian team, Durbar Sports Academy, was invited to play in the tournament from India. The tournament was played from 26th-30th July in Hjorring, Denmark. The recognisable fact here is about the players of the team, who are largely treated as pariahs in our society, swept all issues aside and performed incredibly.
The team comprised of 16 underprivileged boys, out of which 8 players are sons of sex-workers, hailing from Asia’s largest red light area, Sonagachi. The rest were from other slum areas across Kolkata, one of the largest cities in India. Durbar Sports Academy, situated 40km to the south of the city, is a team that is overseen by Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC). The DMSC is a charitable organisation that runs for the welfare of sex workers.
The academy serves as a perfect platform for the children to stay away from all these issues and shape their future. As they made it to the tournament, this time, 15-year-old Yakub said that he had “cried tears of joy” and the struggle is evidently discernible from his words and told to AFP.
"We've grown used to people sneering about where we come from and telling us that our mothers are worthless.
"So this will be a gift to all of our mothers who have to put up with discrimination, abuse and injustice every day of their life in Sonagachi.
"Football has opened doors for boys like us to prove our worth. We got a taste for victory when we won our league in Kolkata last year but now we are only looking forward."
The centre-forward who idolizes Lionel Messi further added:
"We are training hard and trying to stay focused. We are being trained to perform like a finely-tuned orchestra rather than as a solo act."
Their coach Biswajit Majumdar added:
“The boys' determination to triumph against the odds made them a joy to work with on the training field.
"It's wonderful that the boys dare to dream,"
"They are often treated badly and have to put up with nasty comments but they have a never-say-die attitude and hunger for success, which you can't help but be inspired by."
How they fared in the tournament
In the group stage, Durbar Sports Academy strolled past all the 3 other teams to storm into the knockout stage. In the 1st match, they won 3-0 against Elverum FB to start their journey. Ujjal Bag (13’), Kaushik Santra (21’) and Azhar Bhuniya (37’) contributed to the scoreline in the 50’ match.
In the 2nd match, they demolished Stord FB 3-0, Ujjal Bag got a brace (7’ and 24’) and Kaushik Santra (14’) scored one for the team.
In the last match of the group stage, they defeated Klebe SK, Norway, 4-0 to qualify for the knockouts. Shoaib Anwar Munshi netted twice (8’ and 32’) while Abhijit Manna (19’) and Ujjal Bag (40’) scored one each. In the knockouts, they lost to Ready FC of Norway by a solitary goal to crash out of the tournament.
They may not have ended the tournament on a high but they have certainly managed to do something worthy for all of us to be proud of. Once the untouchables, the outcasts of our esteemed society have traveled across Europe to compete against all odds. The opponents were all physically dominant, as the case is with European teams, but their hunger for success was no match for them.
The journey has not been smooth though. There were crunch situations to meet all ends for the Academy to go there. One organisation that needs special mention in this regard is XtraTime.in. They stood firm beside Durbar Sports Academy for all kind of supports to see the boys out there.
Director of XtraTime, Anilava Chatterjee said, "We feel as a citizen of this country it is our duty to stand beside these deprived children who are stranded and cannot go to Denmark to play the tournament due to financial constraints."
Not only that, a charitable fund raising concert, Udaan-Flight of Hope, was conducted at the Najrul Mancha, on 16 July, that witnessed many celebrated singers performing for the cause.
In years to come, this event may well serve as a perfect inspiration for all who aspire to be footballers irrespective of their social entity. And moments like these that make us continue to believe that India will surely make their mark in world football once again.
