Mumbai: Amidst the frenzy surrounding the Hero Indian Super League, Ranbir Kapoor-backed Mumbai City FC is leaving no stone unturned to continue to develop football at the grassroots level. Mumbai City FC have partnered with PSL India, a grassroots football coaching, talent development, and life skills impact organization that operates two brands in the school space - Soccer Connections & Just For Kicks.
Through this partnership, Mumbai City FC will support PSL in delivering year-long high-quality coaching program in schools not just within Mumbai but also in the cities of Pune, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. As part of the partnership, Mumbai City FC will be providing direct technical support in enhancing the coaching modules, while creating a strong pipeline for talented youngsters to get into the Mumbai City FC youth setup.
Speaking about this association, Indranil Das Blah, CEO Mumbai City FC said, “It’s imperative for us as a club to ensure we conduct year-long football programmes to not only maintain relevance, but more importantly, ensure that the sport is actively taken up by kids. This tie-up with PSL India allows us to do just that. We are excited about this partnership and look forward to a highly competitive and successful school programme.”
PSL operates in a wide variety of schools across a wide spectrum, covering the likes of Bombay International School (BIS), Ecole Mondial including Municipal & low-budget private schools through its brands 'Soccer Connections' and 'Just For Kicks' respectively.
Commenting on the partnership, Vikas Plakkot, CEO, PSL Group said, "We believe the only way to change the landscape of football in India is from the ground-up. A child should begin playing as early as the first grade and schools provide the perfect platform for such an intervention. With Mumbai City FC's support, we have the opportunity to reach out to more schools across all levels of society and deliver a high-quality coaching program.”
While the ISL might be on for only a couple of months, this partnership will play a pivotal role in ensuring that talent development continues to run in the background throughout the year. The two organizations are also in the process of launching a new championship, one that will bring all the school teams on to a common platform, more details of which are awaited.
