COVID-19 has negatively impacted various businesses. The sports industry has not been immune to its unwanted spread. This deadly pandemic has left the sports industry at a standstill.
With absolutely minimal physical activity allowed, and a majority of the tournaments canceled, teams and leagues have run into huge losses. In an effort to combat such a situation, everyone has tried to go digital with various new initiatives and programs directed towards their target group.
Odisha FC’s unique grassroots program is aimed at young footballers of the state who will work on improving their football skills and learn about the fundamentals of the sport from the Youth Coaches of Odisha FC - Sandeep Alhan and Kirti Kashyap over a period of eight weeks.
With no access to baby leagues or grassroots tournaments, Odisha FC devised this plan to make proper use of the lockdown to benefit the young players and in the process, help the club in increasing their fan base.
The project has been devised under the leadership of CEO Rohan Sharma, Club President Raj Athwal and Head of Football Operations Abhik Chatterjee.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Grassroots Manager of Odisha FC, Suvam Das said:
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What do we know about the coaches?
Odisha FC’s Under-18 Coach Sandeep Alhan and Under-13 Coach Kirti Kashyap are involved in this program and will be imparting knowledge to the kids through webinars. Alhan is an AFC ‘B’ Diploma holder while Kashyap is an AFC ‘C’ License holder.
How would a digital program benefit young footballers from the state and Odisha FC?
Grassroots Manager Suvam Das went on to explain how the program will help budding footballers in Odisha. He said:
Grassroots tournaments and youth leagues lack the clarity needed to be executed efficiently in this pandemic-warped situation. Hence, going the digital way seems to be the best option at the moment for Odisha FC and every other sports team.
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When asked about the end result of this program, Grassroots Manager Suvam Das said:
Why the program is a smart move by Odisha FC
Through this program, the club is going to add to their list of followers on social media while at the same time developing budding players who can represent Odisha FC one day.
The first batch of the program is already underway, receiving 250 responses in just two days.
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