Soccer Takes Centre Stage in Scoring for a Cause

Bangalore witnessed unmatched passion for football as the beautiful game became a platform for championing child rights, and ensured that children across CRY-supported projects got access to a happy, healthy and creative childhood. A report, for Different Truths.

Soccer is always known to have breaking boundaries. But the game became even more beautiful, as it championed a social cause, this time ensuring a happy, healthy and creative childhood. CRY-Child Rights and You, one of India’s leading NGOs working for child rights organised a tournament called Aon-CRY Soccer for Child Rights, where teams from 23 Corporate Bigwigs locked horns in a day-long tournament to grab the Champion’s trophy and yet championing child right, according to a media release.

The 3rd edition of the tournament in Bangalore saw 28 teams participate which included 4 women’s teams as well. Out of the 28 participating teams, 3 teams from the intervention areas of Vyasarpadi Children Empowerment Project, a CRY-supported project working for children in Chennai, it was informed.

“CRY has always believed in working in the best interest of the child. It is our earnest effort to ensure that every child enjoys their right to childhood and games and sports are integral parts of it. Over the last 2 years the stature of the tournament has only grown to encourage us in making this a better and bigger platform that connects two very different sides of the society,” said Suma Ravi, Regional Director (South), CRY, while inaugurating the tournament, the release added.

Tarandeep Singh, Partner and Asia Pacific Middle East Leader, Aon Assessments, said, “Aon and its subsidiary, CoCubes, are proud to be associated as the Title Sponsors for Aon-CRY Soccer for Child Rights – a unique initiative from CRY to provide equal opportunity for education to children.”

“At Aon CoCubes, our goal is to provide equal opportunity for every deserving candidate for a fulfilling career. Our goals are aligned and complement the lifecycle of the young – Education and Employment. We have come together to meet this goal with a goal of another kind – Soccer,” he added.

As revealed by CRY, the proceeds of the tournament goes to support projects like the Vyasarpadi Children Empowerment Project, which has around 1500-2000 children within its intervention areas. The project aims at providing children from the marginalised sector of the society with the right exposure to life through the medium of sports, it was informed.

Going forward, CRY envisages replicating this model in its other project areas as well where children have excelled in an alternate form of sports like Karate, Kabaddi, and Judo, to name a few. Projects like Salem People’s Trust (SPT) and People’s Organisation for Rural Development (PORD) in Andhra Pradesh also work with many children with high potentials on Karate and Kabaddi respectively, stated the media release.