Mumbai FC announce grassroots development programme

I-League football side Mumbai FC Wednesday entered into an agreement with Millennium Sports Pvt Ltd to jointly implement its grassroots project for kids in the age group of 6-12.

As a part of its grassroots development programme, the club will identify, develop and nurture future football stars. The programme is aimed at attracting 6-12-year old boys and girls to train in a fun based environment, thus creating an enjoyable experience for the child.

The grassroots centres will be structured with FIFA approved training philosophy to ensure comprehensive skill and physical development of the child along while involving and educating parents, teachers and community through periodic workshops.

"Millennium Sports is an important partner for us in implementing this project with their proficiency in various sports verticals. They have immaculate experience and expertise in implementing such programmes in other sports. In the long run, our aim is to create a strong grassroots system which would lead to robust youth and senior teams, made up of home grown players. Grassroots Football is very critical for this to happen and will form the crux of our football philosophy. We hope that these kids would eventually go on to represent our senior team as well as Mumbai, Maharashtra and India," said Atul Badgamia, deputy vice-president, Mumbai FC.

Chinar Deshpande, chief executive of Millennium Sports, said: "Our partnership with Mumbai FC is an ideal example of how Millennium Sports is executing its growth strategy aggressively. Our vision is to set up a complete platform for any sportsman or sports enthusiast to pursue their sporting interest under one umbrella. Our relationship with Mumbai FC is long-term; and this grassroots program is just a stepping stone for us to grow our football vertical in a very systematic way and we are committed to go beyond just coaching and extend all other business services to this relationship."

The centres seek to inspire more kids to train in scientific professional football training methods. Community involvement will play a major role in the grassroots programmes as Mumbai FC and Millennium Sports seek to engage local schools, teachers, parents and other stakeholders. The kids will avail coaching three times a week with a ratio of 15-18 kids per coach to ensure individual attention as well as periodic football festivals.