QPR Indian Involvement Continues...Gallen in India

[Macmoish]

I was curious if it was still continuing. Checking, I see that it is. Not sure who from QPR will be going.

Sportz Power
370 schools in 3rd edition of South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenger
Posted : Mon, 10/10/2011 -

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MUMBAI: The third edition of South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenger 2011, a community soccer championship and talent hunt initiative by Milind Deora, was inaugurated here over the weekend by AIFF president Praful Patel.

Over 3,000 participants have registered from 370 schools of which 270 schools are government aided, for the event - a 5-A-Side format for South Mumbai schools for boys and girls between the ages of 8-10 years, 10-12 years and 12-14 years.

The championship was played out Saturday and Sunday at University Stadium, Marine Lines & the finals will be held on 15 October at Western Railways football ground at Lower Parel.

SMJSC will also serve as a talent hunt programme for Queens Park Rangers as 30 talented youngsters will be shortlisted for a coaching clinic that will be conducted by the club's coaching teams from UK. From this training camp, two youngsters will be selected for further training as part of the Queens Park Rangers Youth training programme in UK.

Speaking on this initiative Milind Deora, who is a Member of Parliament from South Mumbai constituency, said, “It is overwhelming to see the response to my initiative of building community soccer. Through this championship I aim at providing children an opportunity to showcase their skills and learn from experts.

"Be it a student from a municipal school or private school, talent and skill should be the only parameter to judge their potential. Inculcating sportsman spirit at a young age will help develop a healthy India. Kids need the right exposure and training in football to be able to compete with international challenges or represent India globally. With this championship we hope to give students an equal opportunity that they truly deserve.”

A brainchild of Milind Deora, the annual Milind Deora South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenger was conceptualized with a view to unearthing talent at the grassroots level.

The tournament is being sponsored by Coca Cola India, Nirmal Lifestyle and is being partnered by Queens Park Rangers (QPR), part owned by NRI business tycoon Lakshmi Mittal. The event is organized by Saran Sports.

www.sportzpower.com/?q=content/370-schools-3rd-edition-south-mumbai-junior-soccer-challenger

[Macmoish]

Flashback:
QPR Involved in Indian Football Project - qprreport.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=8396

[Macmoish]

And this I must have missed or forgotten! Ad Hoc were involved in a documentary re this

AD HOC FILMS

FOOTBALL'S LAST FRONTIER

Format: Documentary
Client: Swordfish Investments [which is Amit Bhatia and Ishan Saksensa]
Date: April 2011

We were lucky enough to uncover this story very late in the day, raise and receive full funding and have been shooting this film for the last 18 months. A fascinating account of a re-emerging interest in Indian football (considered by all the major clubs to be the last frontier of untapped talent) and the journey of two children plucked from the streets of Mumbai and flown to the UK to train with Premiership club QPR. We will be shooting the epilogue in Mumbai and Delhi very soon and the film will premiere on the festival circuit before a UK and Indian terrestrial TV broadcast.

Click to See six minute Video Trailer vimeo.com/21517579

www.adhocfilms.com/projects/mumbai-footballer/

[Macmoish]

I found the Ad-Hoc/Swordfish documentary interesting

[Jon Doeman]

Dec 27, 2011 10:42:15 GMT Macmoish said:

I found the Ad-Hoc/Swordfish documentary interesting

So did I, well worth a watch.

[Macmoish]

And year ago, Bhatia, Saksena and Gallen all in India
qprreport.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=18465

[Macmoish]

As I was saying... Steve Gallen in India

India needs good football pitches: British expert
By Santosh Rao , New Delhi, Dec 31 : Every overseas visiting football expert has a tip or two for the development of the game at the grassroots level in India. Now a technical official of an English Premier League (EPL) side Queens Park Rangers (QPR) has come up with one - that skills can only be honed on well-tended turfs and there was a "crying need for good pitches" in India.

QPR Youth Development Manager Steve Gallen believes if India has to become a football powerhouse in the region, to start with the grounds need to be evenly grassed. He however sees improvement in Indian football with better and more technically competent players.

Gallen, who is in Mumbai for the third edition of the five-a-side South Mumbai Soccer Challenge -- a talent hunt programme for South Mumbai schoolboys and girls in the 8-10, 10-12 and 12-14 age groups, initiated by QPR in collaboration with Congress MP Milind Deora and Saran Sports -- feels turfs in India were not conducive for football.

"India needs radical changes, besides infrastructure, there is a crying need for good pitches. If the turfs are of standard then the pool of talent will automatically swell and with it the quality of football," Gallen told IANS in a telephone interview.

The man who spent 15 years with the West London club though is happy to see the fast-changing football scene in India over the last three years. He says the players he has seen this time around are better than the crop in the two previous stints of his.

"Players are better, technically they possess good ball control and passing skills. Youngsters are more energetic and have better understanding of the game."

The face of football is changing in India, a cricket-crazy country is finally opening up to the beautiful game. Many European giants are keenly watching the football boom in India and exploring the possibility of associating with its promotion. However, the standard of football itself has not improved much.

India is steadily sliding in the FIFA pecking order. The downfall of the two-time Asian Games Champions is largely due to a lack of planning and investment. From a high of 95th position in 1995, the Indians are currently ranked 162nd.

The slump, he says, is not due to any alarming falling standards here, but because the other countries have grown phenomenally whereas India has stagnated.

"India has remained where they were 10 years back, while other countries have improved tremendously."

"There is no reason why Indians cannot compete at the highest level, it will take time. Football players do not have to be 6 ft 5 inches anymore, look at Messi, the world's greatest player is 5 ft7 inches. The only thing holding the Indian players back is the lack of proper facilities."

Talking of QPR's return to the Premier League this season after 15 years, Gallen said: "Last year was fantastic, we deserved to be promoted, but our players still lack experience to play at the top level. They will change soon, right now our focus is on staying in the Premier League."

Gallen has an ambition, setting up a football academy here.

"Personally, I will do anything to help, I love India. Eventually, I would like to have an academy here."

(Santosh Rao can be contacted at [e-mail]) (IANS)

www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-137356.html

[Macmoish]

Young guns Tanaay, Arfat to train with QPR
By: A Correspondent Date: 2012-01-01
www.mid-day.com/sports/2012/jan/01012012-sports-Young-guns-Tanaay-Arfat-to-train-with-QPR.htm

Mumbai lads Tanay Shah and Arfat Ansari have been selected to train with English Premier League side Queens Park Rangers.


Union Minister Milind Deora with Arfat Ansari (right) and Tanaay Shah,
who were chosen to train with EPL club QPR

Shah from St Mary's ICSE School and Arfat Ansari from St Ignatius School, who will travel to London for the six-week training programme, were selected from the Milind Deora Soccer Championship.

The lads were part of a 30-boy group undergoing a four-day training camp conducted by Queens Park Rangers' youth team coach Stephen Gallen at the Western Railway Sports Ground, Lower Parel.

www.mid-day.com/sports/2012/jan/01012012-sports-Young-guns-Tanaay-Arfat-to-train-with-QPR.htm