The ‘city of joy’ has always witnessed an unmatched passion for the game, and love for football took a new turn to become a platform to ensure that children across CRY-supported projects get access to a happy, healthy and creative childhood.
December 10, Kolkata. With the onset of winter, as soccer-mania grips the emotion of Kolkatans, the second edition of Soccer for Child Rights, the annual football tournament organised by CRY (Child Rights and You), and supported by Genius Consultants Ltd. to champion the cause of child rights, became the talk of the town.
The foggy, rain-soaked morning with a nip in the air could hardly dampen the spirits of the teams, as the day was dedicated to a cause and gearing up for a tournament that made a difference. The day-long football bonanza was all about creating awareness around children’s right to happy childhoods and raising funds to ensure children across projects supported by CRY get access to the kind of happy, healthy and creative childhood that they deserve.
The tournament hosted 12 big corporate soccer teams – HDFC, TCS, SREI, Swiggy, Havells, APJ Surrendra, BPCL, Avenger Plywood, Goodricke, Arohan Financial services, Genius, and Sterling and Wilson. These teams locked horns for the trophy at the Mohun Bagan Ground, as the famous football club came on board as the venue partner for the second consecutive year.
The winner of the day was Tata Cconsultancy Services (TCS) and the team from Sterling and Wilson was the runner up. But the cause was the real champion.
Priyamita Barik, captain of the winning team from the battle between the two CRY all-girls’ teams, said, “We’re so excited to have played this match today. Never thought that we would be playing at the famous Mohun Bagan grounds ever. This is a very special day for all of us. I cannot believe we won!”
Talking about the tournament, Atindra Nath Das, Regional Director, CRY (East) said, “Soccer for Child Rights is a flagship initiative of CRY that not only gives the Corporate employees to take time off from their busy schedule for the game they love, but also offers them a platform to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children while doing what they love!”
“The very idea behind Soccer for Child Rights is to bring focus to the fact that people from every walk of life must come together to uphold the rights of our children, in their own capacity, at every possible level. Investing in children today means that a country such as India has a chance to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, inadequacy, malnutrition, abuse and violence. And investing in quality education is one of the very first steps,” Mr. Das added.
As Shree Venkatesh Films (SVF) joins hands with CRY to celebrate the spirit of child rights, the cast and crew of SVF’s upcoming film – “Aschhe Abar Shabar“, starring Saswata Chatterjee, Subhrojeet Datta, Darshana Banik, Diti Saha, Indraniel Sengupta, Gourav Chakraborty – were present to encourage the finalists and the girls’ teams from CRY.
The film is directed by eminent film maker Arindam Sil, who also graced the occasion and spent time with children. “Today is the first day of our promotions and what could be a better start than this association with such a noble cause,” Sil said. Saswata Chatterjee agreed with him and added, “Mohun Bagan ground brings back fond childhood memories of time spent with my dad, Subhendu Chattopadhyay. And it feels wonderful to see the work CRY is doing with the children, our future.”