Over 1200 school children from across the Twin Cities took part in the Mission XI Million festival held at the Gymkhana Grounds, Secunderabad on Monday morning. It was part of an outreach programme towards the FIFA under 17 World Cup India 2017 championships to be held later in the year.
In keeping with the World Cup’s official slogan ‘Football Takes Over,’ it was a day out for the children to show off their skills with the ball and participate in drills and exhibition matches. ‘Kheleo,’ the FIFA u-17 World Cup’s official mascot, entertained students and teachers, the latter rooting for their wards in the friendlies.
Victor Amalraj was understandably thrilled. The former Indian football captain, who hoisted the national flag at the festival, said he was pleased that Mission XI Million had reached Hyderabad. “The programme has already popularised football in the country. After seeing the activities and attendance here, I’m very optimistic,” he noted.
“Such huge turnouts give us a reason to believe that the beautiful game is making inroads in our nation. Children are ready to embrace football and one can only imagine how things will be, once the country experiences the FIFA U-17 World Cup later this year,” observed FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 Project Director Joy Bhattacharjya.
Seven million children have already participated. The caravan stops next at Bhubaneswar on August 22 as part of a pan-India exercise, during which the festival visits every state in the country. The all-inclusive drive took off from Gurugram, where differently-abled children participated.