V.K. SANTOSH KUMAR
Schoolboy Arunesh Siva Prabu, who has been playing football for three years, had a dream come true last month.
The 11-year-old got to train for a week at Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund with 11 other children between ages 11 and 14 from Singapore.
They were taken to the German city as part of FootballPlus academy’s Champions Unlimited programme, which gives a chance to children from low-income, single-parent households to excel in football.
The trip was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Singapore, which donated $200,000 to the programme.
“I have always loved football,” said Arunesh, a Cedar Primary student. “Joining FootballPlus has helped me become a better defender. I play for my school team, but my goal is to play football at a higher level for a club.”
Thirty children, including girls, are part of FootballPlus’ Champions Unlimited programme. Arunesh was selected because he is disciplined, focused and determined to improve his skills, said coach Ho Wen Jin, who also plays for Tiong Bahru in the Women’s Premier League.
“We assessed their progress over a period and then the coaches got together and selected the ones deserving to go on the trip,” she said. “Our programme includes support for the children’s school education too.”
In Dortmund last month, the weather was just turning cold, but it was not much of a bother for Arunesh.
“We got up early in the morning to train,” he said. “The coaches taught us several tricks, and we also got to play with the local boys. It was fun, but at the same time we had to be disciplined.”
The group from Singapore, including coaches and support staff, were put up in a hotel near the Dortmund academy. They were provided nutritious food and got to travel in the bus that the club uses to ferry their top players.
“Rotary’s aim was to reward high-performing underprivileged kids with a stint at Dortmund,” said Mr Tom Wolf, president-elect of Rotary Club and a German entrepreneur who lives in Singapore.
“Such an experience can change their lives. It is a huge step in their overall development. A trip to a foreign country is an eye-opener, and they get to learn so many new things which are beneficial.
“Importantly, they got a feel of how football is played at the highest level and what has to be done to reach the top. They also got to play in an informal local league where people from the lower strata of society form teams to play on the streets.”
The Rotary Club’s big project this year was to help develop youth football in Singapore, and Mr Wolf used his German connections to strike a deal with Dortmund, which has a training academy in Singapore.
Rotary also built two 7-a-side pitches at FootballPlus’ academy in MacPherson.
Towards the football project, Rotary Club channelled $500,000 to FootballPlus in total, out of which the Singapore government contributed $250,000 and corporates $100,000.
Mr Wolf said that he and his team were initially concerned whether the children, most of whom were on their first trip overseas, could handle the conditions in Germany.
“They didn’t feel the cold (too much), so there were more things for them to do,” he said. “Nobody was homesick too, despite being so far away from home and in such a different culture. In fact, they came to me and said they wanted to stay longer.”
Buoyed by the children’s experience, the Rotary Club is toying with the idea of taking its youth football development project to the next level.
“We are discussing the possibility of providing this overseas training opportunity to an older age group,” said Mr Wolf. “We hope we can offer them at least two weeks’ stay in an academy like Dortmund’s.”
