Around 30 young squad members (predominantly of Bangladeshi origin) of Stepney Football Club have just returned from a 8 day ‘training trip’ to the football academy of Tata Group of Companies based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.
For nearly a year, the budding footballers from the east end of London had been working very hard to raise sufficient funds to realise their dream. The football team received generous financial help from big organisations such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Corus Steel and Tetley Tea and other private and public sector organisations.
The Chairman Mr. Bashir and the current Honorary President of Stepney FC Cllr. Abdal Ullah in a joint statement said “this amazing opportunity only came into fruition is because everyone came forward to help. The support provided by the TCS from the inception of the project plan to the completion of the tour has been simply fantastic. At times when going was getting tougher, TCS always came forward to offer us support and guidance. We would like to take this opportunity to thank TCS and its staff for everything they have done to date. Without TCS this dream would not have been achieved.
Once the boys reached the Football Academy there was no way back. They endured five solid days of training which also included one-to-one coaching. Life in the academy was totally different from the life in the east end of London. Minhaz, who is currently leading the young wing of Stepney FC found it to be very tough and challenging.
He said “Out trip to the academy was an awesome opportunity for us to explore the life of a potential professional footballer. It was tough going especially when we had to get up and be ready to commence training by 7am. It was a complete shock to our system but by the time we completed our stay there we already started to feel the positive impact of a disciplined lifestyle. During our stay we learnt many football skills as well as other aspect of the game including fitness, discipline and healthy lifestyle. I hope that our boys will now implement what they have learnt in India”.
When the club was not playing football they were actively engaged with the local communities of Jamshedpur. The team members were on hand to help the football academy arrange a ‘basti (village) football tournament’ to celebrate 100 years of Tata Steel’s existence. This was a wonderful opportunity for the tour party to get a better understanding of poverty and social exclusion and how it affected the lives of millions of young people in India and around the world. The Group also visited a centre for disabled and mentally ill women and spent time finding out about the project. The Co-ordinator of Stepney FC Mr Akik Miah said, “We were delighted to be able to offer our hands to the academy as it gave us an opportunity to give something back to the local community. It was also a wonderful chance to get a better understanding of the complexities of being disadvantaged. Although Stepney FC is from a deprived inner London borough the level of deprivation in Jamshedpur witnessed by our members will remind them how fortunate they are in the UK”.
In the last leg of the trip, Stepney FC boys played two friendly matches against a Tata Academy XI. The first match was a very close encounter as Stepney forced a 1-1 draw. It was a fantastic spectacle for everyone involved and Stepney could have sneaked in a winner in the last five minutes of the game. In the second match, the academy side won 2-0. It was great opportunity to see how Stepney boys fared against future Indian international stars. Although Stepney is a successful amateur club it was really pleasing for the management and players to be involved in games where everything was at a professional level.
The tour party landed back to the UK on Saturday night at Heathrow Airport where they were greeted by parents and their local supporters. Reports, pictures and videos will be uploaded on the clubs website at: www.stepneyfc.com
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