Fifteen boys from the country are all set to travel to Germany next week for a six-year programme during which they will train under coaches from Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim as part of the U Dream Football programme.
The U Sports initiative founded by Ronnie Screwvala, was launched last year in association with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, under the guidance of Bundesliga/German Football Association (DFB), said a release today.
The boys will depart for Germany on August 19 and would be accompanied by U Dream coaches, former India player Mahesh Gawli and John Raj.
Also travelling with the team will be three teachers who will take care of the schooling for all the boys, "making U Dream Football one of the only programmes that lays an equal emphasis on both football and education," the release said.
"Unlike other football programmes, U Dream Football is a long-term programme where the kids train for a period of six years - designed to actually give the children a better chance of making it in the sport on the world stage," it added.
The selected boys are: Pranav Kanse (Kolhapur), Akash Mishra (Lucknow), Pradeep Mannewar (Udaipur), Aniket Varekar (Kolhapur), Shivam Maan (New Delhi), Kumar Rathod (Mumbai), Ayush Adhikari (Noida), Ankit Bhuyan (Bhubaneshwar), Ishant Rana (Mumbai), Raul Lewis (Mumbai), Armaan Kalra (Gurgaon), Delton Colaco, Kimran Fernandes, Wellyster Mendes (all Goa), Manish Malyadri Siddha (Pune).
