New Delhi: From the Kashmir Valley to the north eastern corner of Lunglei, ‘Baby Leagues’ are mushrooming all across India with the national football federation’s backing to catch them as young as six and lay the foundation for a “better future” for the sport.
Launched in September last year, Baby Leagues have been a hit in the Kashmir Valley, Mizoram, Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. States like Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka and Punjab are also catching up with the trend. Baby Leagues are organised in seven age groups of Under-6, Under-7, Under-8, Under-9, Under-10, Under-11 and Under-12. The number of participating children reached 21,471 last year itself and it rose to 43,575 this year, according to the figures provided by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The number of registered teams was 5,335 last year while 21,130 matches were played in all. The AIFF decided to rechristen the initiative as ‘Golden Baby League’ from this year onwards and the first edition was held in Meghalaya recently. Last year, the AIFF gave a subsidy of Rs 85,000 each to Baby Leagues of 99 age groups run by 30 license holders, from the USD 250,000 fund sanctioned by world football governing body FIFA under its Forward Programme.
The Kashmir Valley conducted 15 Baby Leagues last year with kids of under-11 category taking their first steps towards ‘The Beautiful Game’. These 15 leagues were run by five operators — International School Baby League and Presentation Convent Baby League in Srinagar, ETIHAD Baby League at Pulwama, DFA Kulgam Baby League and Sanctorum Baby League at Sopore. Two leagues — one each in Srinagar and Kulgam — were exclusively for girls. “We have received great response not only from Srinagar but from everywhere in Jammu and Kashmir, may be because of Real Kashmir’s performance in the I-League,” J&K Development Officer Bilal Punjabi said. “A Baby League in Baramulla is in the pipeline,” he added. In Pulwama, where more than 40 CRPF personnel died in a terrorist attack in February, two Baby Leagues were run in quick succession last year with 192 kids across U-9, U-10 and U-11 age groups participating in 168 matches. (PTI)
