PUNE Selected to play in the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) Hero Sub-Junior I-League for the Bhaichung Bhutia Football School (BBFS) in Mumbai, eight youngsters from Pune graced the grand stage for the first time in their lives, after playing with local football clubs in Pune.
However, the promising youngsters could only manage to guide their side to a fourth-place finish in a tournament of five teams.
Dealing with a tricky schedule, the city’s youngsters had to balance academics, and travel to Mumbai to play their games in the league.
Playing a total of eight games in the last season, BBFS Mumbai managed to win one, draw two, and lost the rest.
However, the final standings have not dampened the desire of the local boys as they aim for a bigger, better and brighter future in the beautiful game.
Of the eight selected players who were picked last year, five were CMS Falcons’ recruits, while two were from Game of Goals FC and one from Greenbox Chetak FC.
Mitansh Choudhary, Nishit Phadke, Sai Patil, and brothers Abhishek and Rakesh Rawat, were selected from CMS Falcons.
{{/usCountry}}Mitansh Choudhary, Nishit Phadke, Sai Patil, and brothers Abhishek and Rakesh Rawat, were selected from CMS Falcons.
{{/usCountry}}Neev Jain and Aaryan Subramanian were the two who were picked from Game of Goals FC, while Avanish Chandawarkar represents Greenbox Chetak FC.
“I am immensely proud of the kids who got selected for the youth league. It is a huge positive for grassroots level football in Pune”, said CMS Falcons’ coach Prashant Sasane.
“Considering Pune has suffered huge losses in football in the past few years, it is always good to see that clubs and academies pick players from the city. We still have the potential to be the best city for grassroots level football,” added Sasane.
“All the coaches of my academy have the same aim for all the players learning. The aim is to give all our players a platform to play at a national level and in the future, at the international level too”, said Game of Goals coach Sushil Joseph.
“In order to achieve our aim, apart from the players, the coaches and parents have also worked very hard,” he added.
After a disappointing finish in the league, the boys are all set to work on building their momentum and aim for better results in the future.
Baichung Bhutia football school
BBFS coach, Tanay Deshpande, seemed unfazed with the performance of the boys from Pune. “We knew they would bring something special to the pitch the day we selected them,” said Deshpande. “More than the boys, we want to applaud the parents because they are the ones who would adjust their busy schedules every week to get their boys to play in the league. I was extremely happy to see all of them turning up for each and every game all the way from Pune and that encouraged the players too. They knew they had to perform well especially when their parents are watching.”
Every year, the BBFS conducts a trial in the city of Pune through which the academy selects kids for the Junior and sub-Junior I-League or for their residential academies in Kerala and Delhi. The kids from Pune who have been selected to play for BBFS in the junior and sub-junior I-Leagues have the option to return to the team in the following season depending on their age.
The BBFS has two residential academies - one in Delhi and the other in Kochi. Young footballers selected from Pune for these academies have the chance to train under experienced BBFS.
BBFS only conducts one trial every year which takes place in either June, July or August.
Meet the under-14 footballers who played I-league
Avanish Chandawarkar
Age - 12
Club - Greenbox Chetak FC
Coach - Amit Chavan
Position - Attacking Midfielder
Started playing - 2016
“As the tournament advanced we adjusted well to the new conditions. We finished second last, but managed to hold the league winners to a 0-0 draw, and that was the highlight of the tournament for us,” said BBFS @ I-league.
”Initially, I had asked Avanish to play basketball. It was an active game and would help him increase his height, but one day he looked at a group playing football and never looked back at the basketball court. He is very passionate about the game and I hope this tournament was just the beginning for him,” said Kalyani Chandawarkar, mother of Avanish.
Mitansh Choudhary
Age - 13
Club - CMS Falcons
Coach - Prashant Sasane
Position - Goalkeeper
Started playing - 2015
BBFS @ I-league said, “I consider myself very lucky because I got to play in the best football competition in my category. I learned a lot from the competition and from our coach. Since we all played together for the first time, we failed to link up well and lacked finishing.”
“They gained a lot of experience from the tournament. It was challenging but totally worth it. The players knew they had to deal with it and could do nothing about it so they played their game and fulfilled their academic work after returning to Pune,” said Kamla Choudhary, mother of Mitansh.
Neev Jain
Age - 13
Club - Game of Goals
Coach - Sushil Joseph
Position - Midfielder
Started playing - 2016
“The coaches were very friendly and that helped us a lot to settle down and adjust to the new surroundings. I already had a lot to cope with considering the school work I was missing whenever I had to play in Mumbai. I missed four exams in the process. In the end, barring a strong finish, we did everything right,” says BBFS @ I-league.
“Travelling to Mumbai twice a week during exams was extremely tough. He used to study while travelling and then reach the venue to play. I want him to take football up as a career, but also want him to have proper academic qualifications. He is very passionate about the game,” said Nidhi Jain, mother of Neev.
Nishit Phadke
Age - 12
Club - CMS Falcons
Coach - Prashant Sasane
Position - Left wing
Started playing - 2013
BBFS @ I-league said, “The coaches were very friendly and that helped us a lot to settle down and adjust to the new surroundings. I already had a lot to cope with considering the school work I was missing whenever I had to play in Mumbai. I missed four exams in the process. In the end, barring a strong finish, we did everything right.”
“His school was gracious enough to grant him leave to fulfil his football dream. We have been to various clubs and camps because I want him to pursue a football career. We are going to Bengaluru for a training camp next,” said Rahul Phadke, father of Nishit.
Sai Patil
Age - 12
Club - CMS Falcons
Coach - Prashant Sasane
Position - Striker
Started playing - 2017
BBFS @ I-league said, “It was a completely different experience. The facilities were amazing. My school granted me permission to play for the league so I was a little relaxed. I did have to think about returning to the school and completing all the incomplete work, but at least at that point, I was not worried.”
“I play for the senior team of CMS Falcons so obviously I support him taking up football. He has had trials elsewhere as well and I hope to see him play at the top level. He has been juggling the academics and sports pretty well, so I expect him to be consistent with that,” said Ashish Patil, father of Sai.
Aaryan Subramanian
Age - 12
Club - Game of Goals
Coach - Sushil Joseph
Position - Midfielder
Started playing - 2013
BBFS @ I-league said, “It was a very professional tournament. It was difficult, but fun. The competition was on a whole new level and there was a lot of running involved. The tournament encouraged us to follow a particular technique and game plan rather than just running around with the ball.”
“Due to this tournament, Aryan got an early taste of being independent and being responsible. Whenever there were two games in one week, we would let him stay at the hostel there. He would then travel for training with them so this tournament helped him on and off the pitch as well,” said Sangita Subramanian, mother of Aaryan.