Slum Soccer transforms the lives of slum children with the help of football

Slum Soccer has won the FIFA Diversity Award 2016 and FICCI Gender Diversity Award 2018. It now plans to mentor talented footballers under 14 years of age

Pankaj Mahajan owes his hopes and dreams to football. Like it has done to numerous kids from the favelas of Brazil or slums across the world, the beautiful game came to the rescue of the 24-year-old who was born in extreme poverty to an alcoholic father and a differently abled mother.

He became a drug addict as a schoolkid and dropped out soon afterward. Mahajan’s life changed when he was introduced to Slum Soccer, a Nagpur-based NGO that enhances the lives of young slum dwellers through sport.

Mahajan started playing football to kick out addiction and angst. The NGO helped