Keeping children on football fields and away from streets, Punjab village academy shows the way

Rurka Kalan: At a Punjab village known as much for its fight against drugs as for its growing football culture, a grassroots academy has quietly emerged with focus on one simple idea -- keeping children on football fields and away from the streets.

Youth Football Club (YFC) in Rurka Kalan, Jalandhar district, believes in developing players from the ground up, hoping to make a contribution, however small it may be, in the growth of Indian football which is currently grappling with myriad problems like uncertainty over domestic league structure, lack of commercial partners, salary delays, etc.

The academy, which recently bagged India’s runners-up finish at the Street Child World Cup 2026, currently trains nearly 250 children free of cost during the season while also taking care of hostel, food and dietary requirements for several youngsters.

The academy now operates 14-15 centers across Punjab, reaching to 4,000 to 6,000 children.

Former India defender Anwar Ali, who coached the side at the Street Child World Cup, believes Indian football’s biggest problem continues to be the neglect of grassroots development despite the financial rise brought by the Indian Super League (ISL).

“There is quantity but not quality because we don’t work properly at the grassroots level,” Anwar Ali told PTI Videos.

“Countries like Uzbekistan used to play with us and now they have reached the World Cup. We only think about the top level reaching I-League, ISL and playing for India.” Anwar, who represented India during one of the country's brighter phases between 2008 and 2011, said Indian football had gradually drifted into a comfort zone despite improved professionalism and finances.

“Players are getting good money and we have come into a comfort zone. Nobody tries to go outside,” said Anwar who had rubbed shoulders with the likes of Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri in the national team during his playing days.

Anwar also weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) players after Ryan Williams became one of the few overseas-born players to represent India after acquiring Indian citizenship.

“If we want OCI players to keep developing in other countries and then come here if things don’t work out there, then where are we developing our own players?” Anwar said.

“Maybe it can help for the next two to five years with 10-15 players, but it is not a long-term solution.” The former India international also highlighted the lack of opportunities for Indian forwards in domestic football while explaining the overdependence on Sunil Chhetri over the years.

“We are not getting No. 9 or No. 11 players because where are Indian No. 9s playing in ISL or I-League? Nobody gets a proper chance,” he said.

“When Chhetri and we were playing, there were players like Sushil, Balwant, Robin Singh and JJ () as No. 9s. Where are such players now?” Anwar also candidly addressed the issue of age fraud, which according to him remains one of the major reasons why India’s youth-level success often fails to translate at senior level.

“I will answer this straight forward. I don’t want to target any team or anyone. But the question is: is the under-15 or under-17 team actually under-15 or under-17? “This is because of age fraud. In under-17, sometimes a 21-year-old player is playing. So obviously results will come at youth level, but later the reality comes out.” Anwar's comments came during a felicitation ceremony organised for India’s Street Child World Cup team, which lost 4-2 to Brazil in the final but earned praise for its spirited campaign.

For YFC founder Gaurmandal Das, however, football was never only about producing elite players.

“The aim behind this academy is to help promote football across grassroots and also make it accessible to kids,” Das said.

“We also aim to make Punjab drug free as this will also help in that. The facility is free and have almost 250 children practising here during season with their food and dietary needs taken care of well.” Das said the academy had once considered turning into a professional club before deciding that investing in grassroots football would create a much larger social impact.

“We thought of making this a full time club and not just academy but we thought that the effort we’ll put in just those 20 odd players will not yield us more fruitful avenues than investing time on grassroots,” he said.

That larger vision reflected strongly in the outlook of the young players as well.

Captain Silas, who admires Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, said the final against Brazil highlighted the difference in speed and decision-making.

“Losing 4-2 Brazil in the final given their history is fine but we made it really hard for them to score but at the end their quick thinking and swift movement was just too much for us,” he said.

“These things will help us grow, we want more such experiences to help know each other better and bond well,” teammate Aakash added.

The team’s top scorer Jashanpreet, meanwhile, was already dreaming big. The youngster said he hopes to one day break Chhetri’s record for most international goals for India.

The squad was felicitated by IAS officer S Warjeet Walia at the YFC center before a celebratory parade was organised by the local gram panchayat.