17 Indian U-14 boys to train with Bundesliga club Hoffenheim for six years

In a massive boost for youth development in Indian football, 17 children will travel to Germany on a full scholarship for a whopping six-year training program with Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. U Dream Football, backed by UTV honcho Ronnie Screwvala, launched a comprehensive scouting program across India last year to finalise the list of children, who will be enrolled as part of the U Dream Haryana Football Club (created in collaboration with Haryana Football Association and Haryana Olympic Association) on their return to India. [caption id=“attachment_2397524” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The program took scouts to around 1,000 schools in over 45 cities to choose 17 boys (aged under 14 years) to Zuzenhausen, Germany and train at the Hoffenheim academy. [/caption] The program took scouts to around 1,000 schools in over 45 cities to choose 17 boys (aged under 14 years) to Zuzenhausen, Germany and train at the Hoffenheim academy. During their time in Germany, they will be accompanied by coaches, former India captain Mahesh Gawli and coach John Kenneth Raj. Also, three CBSE certified teachers will monitor and ensure the teenagers’ adherence towards the Indian CBSE curriculum. Introducing the 15 children was Supratik Sen, CEO - U Sports who stated, “Unlike other football programs, the long term association allows students to truly imbibe the spirit of the game and also understand an international level of professionalism that accompanies being a professional footballer. We believe that this program will truly allow us to be catalysts of change at the grassroot level of the sport.” Over the next few months, U Sports under the U Dream Football program will introduce 10 U Dream Excellence Centres across the country that will be staffed with coaches from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Bundesliga to implement a coaching program for children to build a stronger base of candidates for the next program and to also train coaches across the country. “Under the U Dream Football banner, we hope to enhance the country’s youth development system in the sport. These 15 boys on their return and post the rigorous and scientific training under the watchful guidance of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s certified coaches, will be a great contribution to the sport in the country. As we gear up to host the U-17 FIFA World Cup, we know that it is programs such as these that will be a huge benefit to the sporting ecosystem,” concluded Ronnie Screwvala, Founder U Sports. The selected boys are: Pranav Kanse (Kolhapur), Akash Mishra (Lucknow), Pradeep Mannewar (Udaipur), Aniket Varekar (Kolhapur), Shivam Maan (New Delhi), Kumar Rathod (Mumbai), Ayush Adhikari (Noida), Ankit Bhuyan (Bhubaneshwar), Ishant Rana (Mumbai), Raul Lewis (Mumbai), Armaan Kalra (Gurgaon), Delton Colaco, Kimran Fernandes, Wellyster Mendes (Goa), Manish Malyadri Siddha (Pune).