Odisha FC partners with Youth for Sustainability for grassroots development

Bhubaneswar: Odisha FC on Tuesday partnered with NGO – Youth for Sustainability (YfS) to develop football at the grassroots level by touring different parts of Odisha.

YfS is a vertical under the Human Circle Foundation and has been active in a lot of youth-centric social activities.

OFC and YfS will together visit different hotspots in various parts of Odisha and conduct grassroots football programs including an 11 a side game at the end of the day. They will provide footballing equipments to the local football clubs there and trained coaches will show them how to use those equipments. Promising footballers will be scouted from those hotspots and will also be called up for Odisha FC’s youth team camps.

Speaking on the new partnership, Odisha FC’s Head of Football Operations Mr. Abhik Chatterjee explained, “Odisha FC’s partnership with YfS underlines our desire for unearthing the best potential talent in the state. We are hoping to ride on their enthusiasm and shared ideals in order to reach out deep into the bowels of Odisha and prise out a robust conveyor belt of local prodigies. This partnership reaffirms our commitment towards youth in the state and our philosophy of providing an opportunity to the best budding talents.”

Grassroots Manager Mr. Suvam Das expressed, “We are happy with this collaboration with YfS. This association will definitely be fruitful for us as well as for football development in Odisha. We have the vision to promote and improve the quality of football in every corner of the State, starting with 15 hotspots. We can make a difference through the OFC Grassroots Tour.”

Mr. Kamal Prakash Seth, Co-founder, Human Circle mentioned, “This collaboration is a unique opportunity for both the organisations to reach out to the communities at the grassroots level and encourage them to participate in environment friendly activities. Football as a game is a great equaliser and it will help in bringing all the relevant stakeholders under one umbrella.”

Mr. Punyasloka Panda, National Coordinator, Youth for Sustainability stated, “We call it the Medici effect. The collaboration between a football club and a youth-led initiative for Sustainable Development Goals speaks in volumes of the impact that we wish to make. I have learnt life skills from football, I made my best of friends for life on the ground and now I am working for a cause through the spirit of football. What else could be better?”