A  three months long Football League which aims holistic development of rural Children

YFC Rurka Kalan president Er. Gurmangal Das and senior consulted Dr. Amandeep Singh Marwaha toured the UK to present four seminars. The seminars were presented in Derby, Motherwell, Coventry, and Birmingham to address universal education, youth delinquency, drug addiction and HIV AIDS in Punjab.  The seminars were funded with a grant from Global Community Links, under the UK aid program from the department for the International Development.

YFC is a charitable organization developed for the purpose of changing the lives of underprivileged youth through sports and education. YFC has an outreach to approximately two thousand youths through diversified projects such as football academy, computer and vocational educational centre, primary education project etc. 

The seminars were organized by Sports Education and Welfare Association Rurka Kalan UK (SEWA). SEWA is a registered charitable organization in the UK, which helps sports and educational projects in Rurka.

The four seminars showcased and educated the audience on the work YFC is doing via power point, video and exhibitions. Dr. Amandeep Singh Marwha delivered lectures on millennium development goals of the United Nations. Er.  Gurmangal Das elaborated the need of fulfilling these goals and explained what YFC is doing to achieve these goals locally. The seminars attracted close to eleven hundred guests. In Motherwell, Mr. Juskaran Singh Sandhu coordinated the seminar which was attended by 250 people. The presentation in Derby was organized by Counselor Mr. Balbir Singh Sandhu who is the chairman of SEWA. The seminar hosted a little over three hundred guests including Counselor Baggy Shankar and Mohan Singh who were guest speakers addressing the Millennium Development Goals. In Birmingham, Jas Sandhu and Bhupinder Singh Rana coordinated the event which successfully had over three hundred guests. Apart from the speakers from India, Karnail Singh Cheema and Ravinder Singh addressed the audience. After the seminar, Punjabi singer Gary Sandhu entertained the audience and appealed them to contribute towards the fulfillment of the Mellenium Development Goals. The final leg of the trip was hosted in Coventry by Mr. Jasbir Singh Sandhu, secretary of SEWA and President Ravinder Singh Sandhu. Over three hundred distinguished guests attended t

Onye Igwe, owner of Professional Football Club Coventry City FC, the club’s Deputy Chairman John Clarke, and Sarbjit Singh Samra chairman of Capital Local Area Bank Ltd. delivered presentations at the event.

The distinguished guests who attended the four seminars were so impressed by YFC’s work that SEWA UK  raised a little over 30, 000 pounds. Many others also promised to contribute to present and future YFC projects by volunteering their time and services in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals. This UK visit by YFC officials brought great awareness to the Indian Diaspora. The recognition and support garnered by YFC officials during this visit will certainly by a morale booster to continue doing great work in the future.

Coventry City, who are known as the Sky Blues, play out of their newly built stadium Ricoh Arena with a capacity of 32,000. Anwar, who is the highest paid player ever in Indian football, has been the lynchpin of India’s defence over the past four years. He has been a part of the side that won the Nehru Cup, successfully negotiated through the AFC Qualifying stages, won the SAARC Cup and also played heavyweights like Australia in the Asian Cup.

Anwar has also played for various top Indian clubs, including JCT, Dempo and presently Mohun Bagan. Surprisingly left out of the Indian squad by his former boss at Dempo, Armando Colaco, Anwar has been working harder than before to stay in shape and keep his game at the highest level.

Talking to The Tribune, he said, “This is a big opportunity for me. I really want to make the most of it and get to learn as much as I can at Coventry City. They are playing in a division that is next only to the best league in world football.” He added, “It is a dream come true and I really hope I can learn from this and do better for my country and Mohun Bagan too.”

Coventry City, who have had players like Craig Bellamy and Robbie Keane playing for them, are equally excited to have the star defender from India. Coventry Associate Director Alan Malik said, “We are thrilled by the fact that we will have him here. Alongside the opportunity to train with the first team, Anwar also has the chance of being able to play for Coventry City in a few friendly games, depending on his performance during training sessions. We are definitely looking forward to it.”

Coventry City Football Club Asia secretary Jasbir Sandhu said, “It is a big moment for the entire Asian community. This is something that all of us wanted, and after so long, this dream is turning into reality. I wish Anwar the best for his time with Coventry City and I wish to see many more such events in future.”

]]> http://yfcrurkakalan.org/2011/07/anwar-trains-at-coventry-city-fc-uk/feed/ 0 http://yfcrurkakalan.org/2011/07/gurdas-mann-for-yfc-edu-football-league/ http://yfcrurkakalan.org/2011/07/gurdas-mann-for-yfc-edu-football-league/#comments Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:35:16 +0000 YFC http://yfcrurkakalan.org/?p=318 Eminent Punjabi singer and actor Gurdas Mann paid an exclusive visit to YFC on June 21 to release the logo of upcoming Edu Football League. He donned the YFC Team jersey and signed the official Ball of the League.

Gurdas Mann agreed to be Brand Ambassador of the League. He also kicked off a seven a side football match of YFC Under – 12.

A delegation of three sports scientists from the university would visit the academy for an audit and provide the coaches and players technical know-how from April 17 to 26, club president Gurmangal Dass said.

The club, the brian-child of NRI Jasvir Singh Sandhu, a real estate businessman and associate director, Coventry City Football Club, has not only made soccer popular among rural youth, but is also acting as a nursery for players of the Indian team.

This would make football popular in the state at the grassroots level, Dass said, revealing that after the visit, the university would sign an MoU with the club.

Besides Anwar Ali, the All India Football Federation had selected Jatinder Singh of the club for the Indian under-16 team, Dass added.

To impart professional training to the members of the club, two football coaches from Canada have been engaged to sharpen the skills of the budding players.

The coaches are imparting football techniques to around 200 budding players of below 12, 14 & 16.

“Soccer is a game of stamina and power, and the confidence of our players will be high after training,” Dass said, adding that it was a matter of pride that the foreign coaches would specially come to train the budding players.

He still remembers running barefoot in his village, chasing the only football the kids there had at their disposal and kicking it till it went away, far enough to be chased again. Nothing mattered, be it the heat, cold or rain. Life was at its best when Anwar had a football at his feet.

Today, as the boy who started from YFC Rurka Kalan, has become the highest-paid player in Indian club football history, it seems like a just reward for all sacrifices he made. Anwar has been signed up by Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan for a whopping Rs. 95 lakh. He had earlier become the highest paid defender when he had moved from JCT to Dempo two seasons ago.

The contract at Mohun Bagan is initially for the four months left of the current season, which will see him pocket a handsome Rs. 25 lakh. Then, from May 2011, he will be paid Rs. 70 lakh for the next 12 months. This is unknown territory in terms of money for Indian football, where generally strikers have dominated the numbers.

“It feels great that people believe in me. That they like what I can do on the football field,” Anwar says. “But my game is not dictated by money. Neither is the decision of where I play. I was perfectly happy at Dempo. Everyone knows how the Goans love their football, and so it was a great experience.

“But you see, in India, if you haven’t played in Kolkata, then the rest of it doesn’t matter. This is the BIG one. The chance to play for the oldest club and be a part of a legacy. I just hope I can justify it,” Anwar says with the anticipation of playing with one of the biggest clubs in India lighting up his eyes.

Anwar was also part of the Indian side that played in the recently-concluded Asian Cup in Qatar and the experience of playing against Australia and South Korea was memorable for Anwar. “It was fantastic, just an incredible experience. The likes of Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell and Lucas Neil show you how the world views the game. The facilities, infrastructure, the support that these guys get, all of it is just fascinating. It was also a good opportunity for us to learn more about how we have evolved our game.

“But now I hear reports about a new coach floating around. I really hope they are not true. Wherever the team is today, it is because Bob (coach Bob Houghton) has put in everything in this team. He has made us believe that we can compete at the highest level and that we can do well. Indian football needs him,” adds Anwar