Tag: U12 Football

Anantapur Finds Solace in Football

ASA LogoAnantapur, once a crucial part of the Vijayanagar Empire, is now a primarily agrarian district with a developing industrial sector. Plagued by drought and poverty, the district is one of the 13 that receives funds from the Backwards Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGFP) in Andhra Pradesh. For many years the people were left quite hopeless, until Vincent Ferrer and his partner Anne decided to start the Rural Development Trust (RDT) in Anantapur in 1969 to improve the quality of life of the rural poor and the underprivileged in the area.

Apart from the work done to educate the people, and uplift the poorer sections of society, the RDT takes a special interest in using sports and cultural activities to give children a holistic education.

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Performance Over Results

Contributed by Ajeya Row – Head, Soccer Schools, Pune FC

One of the greatest travesties of grassroots football is watching a coach jumping and yelling along the touchline as s/he sucks the joy out of the game for the kids out on the pitch. I recently caught an Under-12 game where a school coach cursed and heckled his own player for misplacing a pass! It was disgraceful.

When I think back to why coaches behave like that in training or at a game, there are a few reasons that come to mind:

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2nd Place Finish for India U12s at Asian Youth Football Fiesta

India Under-12 Team

The India U12 Team

An Indian Under-12 team from Nagaland comprising boys mainly from Greenwood School, Dimapur achieved a creditable second place finish at the recently concluded Asian Youth Football Fiesta 2015. The tournament was conducted in Anseong, South Korea where the India U12s emerged runners-up in the group after winning three group matches out of four while Thailand finished as champions.

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Pune FC Organises Inter-School Under 12 Futsal Cup

Pune FC Futsal Cup 2015In keeping with its reputation as one of the leading professional clubs driving grassroots & youth football, Pune FC recently hosted the inaugural edition of the Godrej Properties-Pune FC Futsal Cup 2015. Envisioned as an inter-school Under 12 invitational five-a-side tournament, the competition gave over 40 schools from all over the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad area a much-needed platform to showcase their talent. One unique feature of the tournament required all participating teams to field at least one Under 10 player at all times on the pitch. This encouraged coaches to give talented Under 10 players a taste of competitive action.

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