Thakur
Banned
- Joined
- 30 Aug 2013
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RANCHI: Just like Neymar, Rodriguez and
Messi — who are charming the world with
their feet in Brazil — beat poverty and all
odds to reach where they are, a group of
tribal girls from the hinterlands of Jharkhand
have dodged all adversities to live their
dream. After bagging third place in Gasteiz
Cup in Spain and making it to the
quarterfinals of Donosti Cup in the Iberian
country last year, Team Yuwa is set to leave
for the United States to compete in the
prestigious USA Cup.
Bringing laurels to the country was
apparently not good enough and, until a few
weeks ago, Yuwa was struggling to arrange the
funds required to take the team to the US.
The team had refused to work under the
"oppressive" conditions laid down by the All
India Football Federation (AIFF), and was
looking for sponsors to participate in the
tournament. On June 5, TOI carried a story
on how the team of 18 tribal girls, lauded by
the likes of former Union minister Jairam
Ramesh and ex-US Ambassador Nancy Powell,
was grappling not just for funds, but also to
eke out a living.
When most corporates balked at the idea of
sponsoring the team for the American
tournament, Yuwa turned to crowd-funding
to collect money. Franz Gastler, team coach
and the brain behind Yuwa, who says the girls
have inspired 200 million people across globe
with their success story, had decided to not
accept "conditional favours" and leave it to
"conscious" citizens of the country to fund
his team's trip, estimated to cost about Rs 50
lakh. Gaslter approached Ketto, a crowd-
funding portal supported by actor Kunal
Kapoor, and inviting donors on social media
to contribute for a cause.
The results were overwhelming. Hundreds of
people from across the country — many
choosing to remain anonymous — donated
generously to show their support for the
tribal girls. With two days to go before the
deadline, 517 people have contributed Rs
34,02,300 to the Yuwa kitty. The amount
includes Rs 15 lakh contributed by TataSky
and Rs 10 lakh by Quantum. "We have
achieved our target because Lenovo is
contributing the remaining Rs 15 lakh and
Star Sports has bought us the air tickets for
Rs 22 lakh," Gastler said. Even some young
employees of the state home department
collected Rs 20,000 from family and friends
to contribute to the cause.
The 18 Yuwa girls visited Kolkata for their
visa interview last Saturday and were
surprised at the treatment they received at
the US consulate. Gastler, a US national
himself, believes that the friendly visa
interviews had something to do with former
US Ambassador Nancy Powell visiting their
club in Ranchi last November.
With off-field issues taken care of, the young
tribals are now focusing on raising their
performance in the USA Cup. Gastler said:
"This is one of the largest international
football forums in the world, but India has
never sent a team to compete. In its 28 years
of existence, the USA Cup has helped
countless young athletes showcase their talent
and made several countries aware about their
own budding superstars. This year, more than
a thousand teams from every corner of the
world will be participating. We want our team
of confident, skilled girls to compete and
spread our message of empowerment for
girls," he said.
Yuwa's assistant coach Sandeep Chhetri said
the team is determined to prove its point
once again. "The confidence among the team
members is palpable and they hope to better
their splendid performance in Spain last
summer," he said.
Messi — who are charming the world with
their feet in Brazil — beat poverty and all
odds to reach where they are, a group of
tribal girls from the hinterlands of Jharkhand
have dodged all adversities to live their
dream. After bagging third place in Gasteiz
Cup in Spain and making it to the
quarterfinals of Donosti Cup in the Iberian
country last year, Team Yuwa is set to leave
for the United States to compete in the
prestigious USA Cup.
Bringing laurels to the country was
apparently not good enough and, until a few
weeks ago, Yuwa was struggling to arrange the
funds required to take the team to the US.
The team had refused to work under the
"oppressive" conditions laid down by the All
India Football Federation (AIFF), and was
looking for sponsors to participate in the
tournament. On June 5, TOI carried a story
on how the team of 18 tribal girls, lauded by
the likes of former Union minister Jairam
Ramesh and ex-US Ambassador Nancy Powell,
was grappling not just for funds, but also to
eke out a living.
When most corporates balked at the idea of
sponsoring the team for the American
tournament, Yuwa turned to crowd-funding
to collect money. Franz Gastler, team coach
and the brain behind Yuwa, who says the girls
have inspired 200 million people across globe
with their success story, had decided to not
accept "conditional favours" and leave it to
"conscious" citizens of the country to fund
his team's trip, estimated to cost about Rs 50
lakh. Gaslter approached Ketto, a crowd-
funding portal supported by actor Kunal
Kapoor, and inviting donors on social media
to contribute for a cause.
The results were overwhelming. Hundreds of
people from across the country — many
choosing to remain anonymous — donated
generously to show their support for the
tribal girls. With two days to go before the
deadline, 517 people have contributed Rs
34,02,300 to the Yuwa kitty. The amount
includes Rs 15 lakh contributed by TataSky
and Rs 10 lakh by Quantum. "We have
achieved our target because Lenovo is
contributing the remaining Rs 15 lakh and
Star Sports has bought us the air tickets for
Rs 22 lakh," Gastler said. Even some young
employees of the state home department
collected Rs 20,000 from family and friends
to contribute to the cause.
The 18 Yuwa girls visited Kolkata for their
visa interview last Saturday and were
surprised at the treatment they received at
the US consulate. Gastler, a US national
himself, believes that the friendly visa
interviews had something to do with former
US Ambassador Nancy Powell visiting their
club in Ranchi last November.
With off-field issues taken care of, the young
tribals are now focusing on raising their
performance in the USA Cup. Gastler said:
"This is one of the largest international
football forums in the world, but India has
never sent a team to compete. In its 28 years
of existence, the USA Cup has helped
countless young athletes showcase their talent
and made several countries aware about their
own budding superstars. This year, more than
a thousand teams from every corner of the
world will be participating. We want our team
of confident, skilled girls to compete and
spread our message of empowerment for
girls," he said.
Yuwa's assistant coach Sandeep Chhetri said
the team is determined to prove its point
once again. "The confidence among the team
members is palpable and they hope to better
their splendid performance in Spain last
summer," he said.
