Opportunity to All

Despite the fact that more than half of India's population is under 25, the country has struggled to get enough representation or make a worldwide influence in sports. To improve and develop their skills and athletic abilities, a sportsperson is required to play a minimum of 100 match play experiences each year, according to FIFA regulations. Children in India, on the other hand, only play in 5–7 tournaments each year, which is just 7% of the necessary minimum. Even the fortunate few who do have the opportunity to participate in competitive sports cannot excel beyond a certain point. Difficulties are paramount for Children from low-income families who have an especially tough time even participating in sports.   

The Victory Sports Foundation, which offers regular mentorship and coaching in football and boxing to such children through Victory Sports Hubs, has identified a significant difficulty in terms of enhancing their game-play due to the lack of opportunities to participate in sports tournaments. Despite the fact that the children in these centers are routinely coached, they are unable to frequently put what they have learned into practice. Unless they are exposed to more matches and tournaments, even their coaches are will be unable to assess their on-field strengths and weaknesses. It is therefore critical to organize and participate in multi-level tournaments that will help these kids in improving their gameplay.   

Victory spots foundation organizes and encourages their children to participate in special sports tournaments to address this gap- thereby enhancing and refine their game skills. These tournaments are simple to organize, cost-effective while providing children with the necessary match and game experiences they require to hone their abilities. Victory conducts these tournaments at three levels.   

1. Sports Talent Enhancement Program (STEP) tournaments (Intra-City): These are regular matches that are conducted once a month between clubs in the city.  12 such matches are conducted a year and approximately 100 children participate. The cost of organizing one STEP tournament is Rs 11,000. The total cost for a year is Rs 1,32,000.    

2. Outstation (Inter City /State/District Matches): It is important players participate in tournaments outside their cities and districts because they will be exposed to players from different backgrounds and skill-sets. The challenges are more and the competition is higher, offering them more scope to enhance their skills and move up in the skill ladder. This year, we are planning to take our teams to participate in 6 such tournaments. The cost for the Victory team participating in these matches (including their travel and accommodation) is Rs. 44,000 per tournament. The total cost for a year is Rs 2,64,000.  

3.  Vivekananda Tournament: This is Victory Sports Foundation’s flagship tournament, impacting clubs from over 10 districts in Tamil Nadu. The program reaches out to over 1000 children youth across the state, giving them a platform to participate in a State level tournament. Conducted once a year, the total cost for organizing the tournament is Rs. 4,00,000.  

Tournaments are significant in the area of sports. They are important not only for the participants but also for the coaches and football managers. Some of the outcomes are listed below   

1. Skill Development: Participating in competitions allows athletes to improve not only technical but also tactical abilities in their sport.   

2. Helps in Scouting: Tournaments may be used to identify strong players and new talent by monitoring their performance.  National scouters also scout for talented players from such state and district tournaments. 

3.Promotes sports popularity: Tournaments aid in the promotion of sports. It piques people's interest in that particular sport.    

4.Entertainment Source: Sports competitions give plenty of entertainment for spectators and creates sports culture among public. 

5.Enhances social skills: Sports competitions help players develop social qualities such as tolerance, compassion, collaboration, and group cohesion.   

6.Promotes cohesion: Sports competitions aid in the development of national unity and brotherhood as well as international unity and brotherhood.   

7. Alignment with GOI objectives: Through its Fit-India program, the government has reaffirmed its commitment to a fitter nation. Practicing in tournaments do just that.   

8. Alignment with UN SDG- Tournaments also helps contribute to UN SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and UN SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities by providing a level playing field for children from all backgrounds.  

Our aim is to ensure that all our students who come from diverse and underprivileged backgrounds have access to quality sports via tournament participation which will help them in their game play, overall health, fitness levels.  Some of the measurable indicators include.   

• Improved sports performance.   
• Increase in child’s involvement in sports.   
• Locally run, grassroots tournaments.   
• Improvement in endurance, stamina, flexibility, and mental well-being.   
• Increase in the number of underprivileged children accessing sports.