M A I N   N E W S

Jalandhar boys do a chak de in Durban
Rurka Kalan football club wins the Street Child World Cup
Vaibhav Sharma
Tribune News Service

YFC Rurka Kalan captain Amritpal (extreme right) and Manpreet Kumar (extreme left) with other players in Durban. A Tribune photograph

Chandigarh, March 25
The IPL is in full swing. Crowds in the stadiums are teeming, TRPs are phenomenal and cricket, like always, is making waves. Even in these times of forced oblivion, football in India has taken a big, but modest step forward. Thanks to Youth Football Club, Rurka Kalan (Jalandhar), India won the inaugural Street Child World Cup held in South Africa from March 15 to 21 by beating Tanzania in the final. The YFC team was representing India and fought it out with Tanzania, Philippines, Brazil, UK, Nicaragua, Ukraine and hosts South Africa.

The tournament, which was organised by Amos Trust, UK, was held with the purpose of highlighting the issues faced by people from deprived corners of the world. That India, a country with poor footballing credentials, won means it was a double whammy, the cause and the sport being winners. YFC got the chance of becoming a part of this tournament due to their collaboration with Khalsa Football Academy, UK.

YFC, which was set up by the young people of Rurka Kalan village, is run by a self-sustaining model. It raises funds through winning prize money tournaments and has been able to build sufficient infrastructure with the help of NRIs. This model has produced the highest-paid defender in Indian football, Anwar, and shows that even if you don’t have the diet to burn endless calories on the field, a burning desire to do well can fit just right in.