Bengaluru Incident Puts Spotlight on Indian Football’s Grassroots Challenges

The case of mistreatment of young footballers in Bengaluru has put a spotlight on grassroot football’s challenges

Sonarpur Dynamic Academy's young footballers' treatment has drawn focus on the state of grassroots football in India.

Image sourced by author.

The news that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is considering hosting 10 matches of the 2034 FIFA World Cup has generated significant excitement and buzz in Indian football circles. This development represents a major step forward for the sport in India, indicating its growing prominence and the potential for further development and international recognition.

However, this wave of enthusiasm is tempered by a recent troubling incident in Bengaluru, which cast a shadow over the sport’s state in the country.

The incident at a local Bengaluru club has laid bare some of the darker aspects and underlying issues within Indian football. It serves as a stark reminder that while strides are being made on the international stage, there are still critical challenges and problems at the domestic level that need to be addressed to ensure the healthy and ethical growth of the sport in India.

Images shared by Sonarpur Dynamic Academy show the young footballers preparing their own meals.

Image sourced by author.

The treatment of young footballers from the Sonarpur Dynamic Academy of South 24 Parganas in West Bengal is a disturbing example of the challenges and exploitation young athletes can face.

The story begins with high hopes as 13-year-old goalkeeper Abhishek Banerjee and nine other budding players from Kolkata embarked on a journey to play for Bengaluru’s Black Panther Total Footballing Club in the Karnataka State Youth League. This was to be their first experience playing for a club outside their state.

However, the reality they faced was far from what was promised. In the first game, Banerjee was the only player from Dynamic Academy to get a chance for Black Panther. However, he hurt one of his toes on the right foot while attempting to make a save and complained to the Black Panther coach-cum-manager Joy Sarkar about the pain after the match. Sarkar told the boy that it would heal on its own and not to worry about it. Banerjee was selected for the next match and he played through pain and swelling.

“I applied Volini and prayed to God to take the pain away. I didn’t even tell my parents about the injury because they would get tense sitting so far away. No doctor came to treat me,” Banerjee told The Quint.

Later, when Banerjee returned to Kolkata after a month, it was found out that he suffered a sprain in his long toe.

Banerjee’s pain was just the tip of the iceberg. Other boys were treated with equal disdain. They were burdened with household chores, including carrying 20-litre jars of water, cooking their own meals, and cleaning utensils, tasks not fitting for young athletes in a professional setting.

Images shared by Sonarpur Dynamic Academy show the young footballers preparing their own meals.

Image sourced by author.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this, though.

When Sarkar, an AIFF B License coach, approached Dynamic Sports Academy with an offer to loan 5 footballers each for the U-13 and U-15 categories, the Sonarpur club readily agreed. They felt that it could be a wholesome exposure for the kids and released the players. Black Panther also sent an email, with particulars about the deal, and promised to take care of the food and lodging of the players.

Later, a few Dynamic Sports Academy officials travelled with the children on 7 October and saw the arrangements in Bengaluru. “We saw there were no beds and mattresses for the kids. The weather in Bengaluru gets quite cold, particularly in the evening during these months. So we requested the Black Panther administration to get some beds for the kids. They said they will arrange beds in a week’s time. Other than that, we were happy with the infrastructure and residential accommodation. We also appointed a cook who would cook meals for the kids and we left for Kolkata,” Soham Bhattacharya, a coach-cum-official with Dynamic Sports Academy, told The Quint.

Things though changed drastically after their departure. “We started getting complaints from the boys that they faced mental torture. They were also not getting proper nutrition. Breakfast was served around 11:30 AM. Lunch would be around 4:30 PM and the boys would prepare their dinner at 11:30 PM,” alleged Bhattacharya.

Banerjee confirmed Bhattacharya’s allegations. “We woke up at 5 in the morning, trained and came back to our accommodation at 7:30-8 AM. Then we slept. After waking up, we would get breakfast around noon. Then we would prepare our own lunch and dinner. At times, we would starve ourselves. At one point, we got fed up with our ordeal and complained to our parents,” Banerjee said.

Images shared by Sonarpur Dynamic Academy show the young footballers.

Image sourced by author.

Upon learning of these conditions, Dynamic Sports Academy demanded the players’ release, but the Black Panther Club did not address these concerns adequately. Instead, they restricted the kids from communicating with their parents.

“We were appalled with the way an AIFF-accredited club was behaving. The kids didn’t even get water and were forced to drink water from the basin. Black Panther even demanded Rs 30,000 from us for each boy in order to release them. It surprised us because there was no monetary transaction involved anywhere,” Bhattacharya said.

After seeing that their request was falling on deaf ears, Dynamic Sports Academy decided to inform Indian Football Association (IFA), the patron of the sports in West Bengal, and lodged a complaint with the Baruipur Police Station. This led to intervention by the IFA and legal action, culminating in a rescue operation facilitated by the Bengaluru Police and the Railway Protection Force. The boys finally reached their home on November 24.

The Quint tried to reach the Black Panther club officials but several calls went unanswered. However, this incident not only exposed the plight of young footballers but also brought to light the alarming conditions they often face. These young athletes, hopeful for a chance to develop their skills and build a career, instead find themselves in environments that are far from nurturing or professional.

This fiasco raises significant questions about India’s readiness to host major international events like the FIFA World Cup matches. While the prospect of hosting such prestigious events can be seen as a testament to the country’s growing role in the global football community, incidents like these suggest a glaring disparity between the aspirations at the international level and the realities at the grassroots.

The situation calls for a re-evaluation of priorities, emphasizing the need for better governance, oversight, and support at the foundational levels of the sport. Ensuring the welfare, safety, and proper development of young athletes must be paramount if India aims to not only host grand events but also to foster a robust, ethical, and sustainable football ecosystem.