The FIFA World Cup simply brings out the football lover in all of us. Is it not amazing to see eleven people chase one ball and hold our breaths for the team we support? Oh that joy we get when Brazil or Argentina scores that one vital goal! Or, more recently France, Germany and Spain. Anyway, we Indians are hounded by our disappointment in the sport of soccer or football. No matter how well the Indian men’s team does in cricket, our performance in football just does not leave a mark, somehow.
It saddens us and makes us hope for a day when instead of cheering for some other country, we can cheer for our very own. However, with the current state of football in India, this is highly unlikely. The Indian men’s football team is currently ranked at 97 while the women’s team is sandwiched between Venezuela and Turkey at 60. Part of the poor performance of India in football is that there is no mechanism in place in our country to bring out the best in young footballers.
Moreover, much of the country’s focus is in funding cricket, which though exciting, sort of dominates all other sports in India. This is an unfortunate situation as football has always been the game of the poor and the disenfranchised, a way through which they have found their expression. This is perhaps why club football is so popular in parts of India like West Bengal, Goa and Kerala.
However, club football too has become dependent on foreign players. I am not making a case against having foreign players. On the contrary, I am trying to put forward the need to popularize football in India, especially among young children in underprivileged positions. To do this, we need football clubs catering to them that will run transparently. Starting a football club will require money and this is where fundraising India comes in.
Why a football club? What good will it achieve? Well, for one thing, it will keep a lot of young people occupied and fit. Young children from underprivileged positions are very likely to fall prey to crime. Engaging them in a sport and coaching them in a sport will mean that these children find themselves a pastime beyond school. As they grow older, they might find themselves more occupied with studying. But the football ground will always be a place they can return to in case they need to blow off some steam.
However, building a football club which will keep membership fees extremely low is quite difficult. You need to convert a suitable field/ground or empty space into the playing space. You would need coaches who can provide your students with exposure and who have a keen eye for good players. Who knows? Maybe your club can provide society with a great player who will inspire others from the same echelons of society.
Remember that fundraising sites can help you in the accomplishment of this dream. If you have a clear plan, you should set yourself to work like the sports enthusiast that you are. Start a fundraiser. It takes literally five minutes to start a fundraiser on fundraising platforms in India like Impact Guru. Your fundraising drive could be just yours or part of an NGO run campaign. That should not matter. If it is an NGO run campaign, service fees will vary slightly. Other than that, there will be no other difference. Impact Guru is experienced with NGO fundraising as well as medical, creative and educational. Once you have your fundraiser, you can start campaigning for funds among all the people you know who care about the cause.
Keep all your contributors in the loop. And when your club hosts the first game, invite all your contributors for free. Fundraising India is a great way to start a new venture, whether it is a profit based one or a non-profit cause. It is low risk and does not involve financial investment. So, if you are looking to start a football club, this is the place where you should search for your capital.
