One of the city’s major attractions at school-level football has been the introduction of the ‘soccer league’.

Held on one Sunday of every month, it was conceived by the Indian Youth Soccer Academy with the aim of keeping children of all age groups in touch with the skills they acquired from the school’s training programs.

“We wanted these kids to retain what they’ve learnt, which is why we get them to play regularly,” Anjali Nirvan Shah, who runs the program, told Mid Day.

“But unlike in school tourneys, here they play more for sharpening their skills, rather than concentrating on winning a game.”

Kids from the age of six to even 18 can be spotted practicing for a few hours in the wee hours of the day, and then to play matches.

“The children are selected in different teams according to their skill levels,” Shah explained.

Hence, this soccer league is the report card for an aspiring football player’s skill level and a check on how much progress is being made.

The league, in fact, is an indicator of what’s been happening over the past three years in modern football coaching and training methods being practised in Mumbai… and very quietly but significantly.

Over the last three years, the IYSA has been engaged in training children. What’s more – they are bringing the best coaches from outside the country to nurture the young talent here.

“We are tied up with the Bobby Charlton Soccer School, which sends UEFA ‘A’ level coaches to train our kids. Out of these football camps, the most skilled kids can move on,” Shah said.

India can hope to be lucky, for the biggest find from a similar program by the Bobby School of Football was none other than England captain and Real Madrid’s star David Beckham.

Apart from the league, these children are also selected for camps in England. “We travel with a batch of 30 children, who train everyday in their set-up, apart from playing against local teams and watching a Premiership match as well,” Shah said. “The next camp is coming up on May 12.”