Celebration Football League

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Lokhandwala is a very happening place, full of high rise buildings, lot of celebrities, very filmy, very fashionable. What it really lacks - an environment which encourage youth to indulge in sports. You may find hundred reasons for it - lack of encouragement from parents, absence of playgrounds in proportion of population of the area , lack of community support and other infrastructure.
Say Good Morning Club is operating in Lokhandwala from last one and half year and trying to address the youth and community related issues. Idea of Football League floated by Say Good Morning Club almost six months back, tried to rope sponsors and strategic partners in the initiative. Meetings with sponsors does not yield tangible results as they had a feel that scale of event is too small. End of search was over after Celebration Club came forward to be a major partner in the initiative and also promised to lend financial support. After pursuing young ones and their parents from building to building , Say Good Morning Club Diehards could be able to muster 38 teams, no mean achievement. 

The event will take place at Lokhandwala Celebration Sports Club fro 14th to 16th of this month.

Today captains of all the participating teams were invited at Celebration Club to brief them the rules and regulations, game format and ties. names of teams are quite interesting Bravehearts,Rising Boys, Deep Deadly Tower,Devils, bulls united, Soup dragons, Mean machine, Stallions among the others.

 From the the side lines, I tried to talk to some of the captains to understand how they feel about the event. 

Rahul Captain of Hrushikesh FC expressed his gratitude to the organisers as finally their team is getting a platform where they will be able to showcase their talent. When asked what are the reason of sudden revival of football in India especially in our City also,  he says , ' Mainly due to World Cup fever and now IFL'. I ask him what attracts youth to this game money or something else. Rahul says ' More than anything else Fame.' 

I ask the other captain Mickel, who is basically from African continent and is in India for some time, that whether he feels that some day football will over ride cricket ? He says, ' The way the sport is catching fever, it may be possible in coming years.'

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