E-mail this article Rate this article Search archive Comment Print this article View Comments Nirvan and Anjali Shah, founders of PIFA, with kids Crish and Neel share a passion for football albeit with divided loyalties for the World Cup

All The Right Moves

Football buds are taking bloom in Mumbai, thanks to one family's obsession with the game, reports Kenneth Lobo

The foremost football academy on the planet, discounting the youth academies of Barcelona and Ajax, is the Academie ASEC MimoSifcom. Located on the outskirts of Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s largest city, its fabled production line (Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure, Didier Zokora) has introduced more than 20 graduates to life in Europe’s top leagues. The success of ASEC is down to the vision of a triumvirate of Frenchmen — Phillippe Troussier, Roger Ouegnin and Jean-Marc Guillou. Similar foresight has been moulding Mumbai’s football crazy kids, guided by the vision of Nirvan and Anjali Shah, founders of the Premier India Football Academy (PIFA).


TOUGH BEGINNINGS

“When our kids (Crish, 13, Neel, 11) began playing, coaches would say, ‘Learn as you play.’ But our kids hardly learnt,” says Anjali, talking about the inspiration for the set up. Then, in 2003, during a trip abroad, the couple decided to approach the Bobby Charlton Academy in London for a coaching camp. Far from being receptive, the representatives laughed at the suggestion of a football academy in India. “They said, ‘Come back with a group of 15 children and then maybe we’ll talk’,” says Anjali. If the Londoners thought they had seen the last of them, they were badly mistaken.

Within a month, they returned, convincing both, themselves and the Academy that there was indeed a desire to play football, and play it better, in India. Now, PIFA conducts camps twice a year, in May and July. Their most recent excursions have been to Liverpool and Milan, two of last season’s UEFA Champions League finalists.


GOALS

One of the most enduring images of early morning coaching sessions in schools is that of the maestro (either an ex state-level player or football enthusiast) sitting under a tree, while an assistant yells out instructions to sleep-deprived aspirants. “The military-style warm up routines and constant howling does little to boost the kid’s tender egos,” she adds. Keeping this in mind, Nirvan and Anjali decided that they would invest heavily in coaches, ensuring that they are well trained (under Premiership guidelines) and handsomely paid. The move paid off, as children began looking forward to training and today, everyone arrives 15 minutes before time.

With parents and children taking notice of the academy’s influence, school coaches began to feel insecure. “Unfortunately, they didn’t realise that if the kids perform, the school and the coach will bask in the glory,” says Anjali.


THRILLS AND SPILLS

One of the biggest rewards for the academy’s efforts came early this week. Kean Lewis, a 14-year-old studying with Hiranandani school, Powai inked a deal that will see land him a four-week trial with the under 15s of a Second Division club in England. The Kean Lewis story isn’t an exception, however. Almost all of PIFA’s young guns play for their schools (with results), and some, like Karan Dewan have even been invited for pre-season trials with foreign clubs, like the Glasgow Rangers in Scotland. While the camps abroad represent the more glamourous side of PIFA, at the heart of the academy is their efforts at the grassroots level. With four centres in various parts of Bombay, this is where the city’s football bosom is heaving with talent.

The academy has also extended support to kids that are financially handicapped. Once a year, the PIFA organises a talent hunt held at the Cooperage grounds. “We put in a small ad in an English daily,” Anjali says, “and the turnout was amazing.” Three hundred and fifty kids, with parents in tow, participated in a rigorous skill test. After separating the wheat from the chaff, 15 finalists were whittled down to a final five. And what is surely as fabulous as the goings-on in Abidjan is that two of the five have been selected by Mahindra United (National Football League champions) for their under 15s.

PIFA has also tied up with Akanksha, an NGO that works with street children to provide the academy with young, talented kids. The partnership works perfectly for Nirvan and Anjali. “Akanksha is interested in telling children that there is more to life than living on the streets. And we think that football can be a part of that. The game will sustain their interest and we are willing to sponsor that enthusiasm,” says Nirvan.

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