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For all those who have been wondering why a country of 1.3 billion people has never qualified for the football World Cup finals, don’t lose hope. Three Bengaluru boys, Dhruv Alva, Naman Jagga and Rohan Negi, all of 16, will head to Spain next month to train with Global Premier Soccer in Valencia and lnterSoccer Madrid.
Along with the training, the three will pursue undergraduate studies at Caxton College.
The man who has made this possible, Sunanda Das, is one step closer to his goal of creating football stars from India who will play in the European League in four years (2022).
A chartered accountant, Das quit the corporate life after nearly three decades. “If I am given full freedom by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to pick and train 40 boys in the age group of 6-7 years today, Team India can qualify for the World Cup in 15 years,” Das said.
‘National goal’
Spain has one of the top-five European Leagues, alongside England, Italy, Germany and France. And playing in an European League is the surefire way to enter the haloed league of World Cup players. “Making it to the World Cup should become a national goal,” he added.
Das held discussions with the English Premier League Clubs, but did not find a fit. He travelled to Brazil and Argentina and zeroed in on Club Atletico Boca Juniors, a professional football club based in Buenos Aires. A very successful football team, it has won 45 official and 18 international titles. Diego Maradona played for Boca Juniors.
Argentinian trainers
Das’s company, PDC Services Pvt Ltd, which holds the All India Master Franchisee to Club Atletico Boca Juniors Football School in India, trains 450-500 students at its eight centres in Bengaluru twice a week and during weekends, for ₹4,500 a month. Of these, 40 students under 13 are selected to be part of the Boca International Football Excellence programme, a 10-month training ₹2,10,000 schedule at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence.
“We have sponsored eight of these 40 students from the tribal areas of Odisha, Jharkhand and Assam. Their stay, schooling, nutrition and training are taken care of by us. My dream is to create a team of 20 superstar footballers from underprivileged background,” said Das, an avid footballer himself.
Recalling his playing days, he said: “I played football for 10 years from when I was 6. At 16, I had to abruptly give up football to focus on my studies and therefore, suffered from withdrawal symptoms right through my corporate stint. However, I had decided that I will quit at 50 to follow my passion and fortunately for me, being a chartered accountant allowed me to plan my finances early on, and I quit as per plan,” said Das, who also turned down the invitation to play for the Calcutta League in the mid-1980s.
Stress on education
Emphasising the need for a quality education, Das said, “I advise my boys to get a good education, because football is a high contact sport and injury can end one’s football career.” Das spends 14 hours with his “boys” during the weekends and 10 hours on weekdays.
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