Kolkata, Jul 26 (Agency) Dream Sports Foundation (DSF), the philanthropic arm of Dream Sports, one of India’s leading sports technology companies, launched the ‘Dare To Dream’ initiative in partnership with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (BBFS) Residential Academy to support six talented young footballers. Scouted by the Indian Football Foundation, a sister concern of the BBFS, the young prospects are between the ages of 12 to 17 years and come from challenging backgrounds from Manipur, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand. As part of the initiative, DSF will facilitate their training and provide end-to-end assistance in their education, nourishment and competitive exposure for the next one year. Talking about the partnership, former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia who also founded the schools, said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Dream Sports Foundation. Our mission to provide equal opportunities to every football-playing child in the country gets strengthened with DSF’s support.
We’re very confident that structured guidance from experienced coaches and sports professionals can help talented youngsters become future footballers for India.” Speaking about the ‘Dare to Dream’ initiative, Bhavit Sheth, Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder, Dream Sports, said, “We are proud to be associated with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools, who share our passion of empowering India’s young sportspeople. Through this partnership, we will recognise and nurture young talented prospects and leave no stone unturned to support them in achieving their full potential.” As part of India’s largest football training program, the BBFS Residential Academy currently has four campuses across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi NCR and Kerala. They aim to give their students a platform to achieve their goals of becoming professional football players and play for leading clubs within India and overseas. Recently, Dream Sports Foundation partnered with Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation (MKRBF) to support six talented and budding female boxers from Imphal by providing training, educational and financial assistance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, DSF also supported almost 4500 beneficiaries from the sports industry impacted by the crisis as part of the ‘Back on Track’ program.