Social Inclusion Cup for Uttarakhand Kids
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Uttarakhand State Level Tournament For most of the time, kids residing in slums in districts of Uttarakhand would be standing on the sidelines watching well-to-do kids participating in games. (Uttarakhand is a new formed state in North India, nearly 2000 km away from our base at Nagpur.) We decided to change that with the help of Rajesh Dhami, a slum resident of the Pithoragarh-Uttarakhand and also Homeless World Cup Player (Melbourne 08).
It all started with Coach Andy Hook’s visit, where Rajesh got a chance to be trained for 14 days. Rajesh decided to do something for his fellow slum dwellers, he and some friends constructed a first soccer field in his home town, for him to practice on and for the community to enjoy. The word spread to localities around and soon a large number of youngsters were playing there. Cashing in on the mood we conducted the first ever State Level Slum Soccer tournament in Uttarakhand which was named “Social Inclusion Cup”
The tournament was held at Rai Ground Pithoragarh from 24th October to 3rd Nov 2008 The participating districts were as follows:
Tournament was organized by Rajesh Dhami, Kamal, Vinod Jayala, Umesh, Rajender Bist also joining hands with these youngsters were Dr. Dharmendra Bhat (Disrtict Sports Officer), Mr. Rajendra Singh Rawat (Pithoragarh Football Association and Santosh Trophy Player), Haridutta Kapri (Former Basketball Player and Arjuna Awardee), and Boxing Coach Mr. Dharamchand.
The best player award was given to Chetan Nikhurpa (Team Muncary) who scored 13 goals during the tournment.
The winning team is now preparing to participate in the National Level Tournament.
A guidance camp was also held for the players to assist them in issues regarding education and addiction. A talk on environment awareness was also delivered during the program.
A sports Scholarship by Krida Vikas Sanstha was also declared for deserving players.
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