A Great Project in Bangalore

I spent the week in Bangalore a few weeks ago for meetings and to scout possible venues for the next set of FCBarcelona Soccer Camps. It was a great trip as I had the opportunity to travel all over this cool city to learn more about the grassroots football scene and check out existing infrastructure.


The best part of the trip was spending time at the beautiful Bangalore Football Stadium. This centrally located stadium is equipped with artificial turf which was gifted to the Karnataka State Football Association through the FIFA “Goal” program. Better than looking at the stadium was learning about and experiencing the beauty of what was actually taking place on the pitch.
Each day I was there, I had the opportunity to watch 50 young boys from underserved communities receive free training from the Dutch Academy (KNVB) and local Indian coaches. This is all was provided through  CSR initiative created by the Ozone group and supported on the ground by Bangalore Youth Football League. The daily training from world class coaches was provided free of charge for the boys who had qualified for the academy through a trial process.

For me it was great to see a program of this caliber run for those who dream of playing football professionally but can’t afford proper training gear let alone coaching from top coaches from the West.

Here are some pictures from the camp…




Founder and head of BYFL - Adhip Bhandary

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