What Football Gave Me — and What I Wanted to Give Back

When I think about why I organised the tournament, the answer is actually quite simple.

I love football.

I have loved it since I was a child, and the sport has given me a huge amount personally.

It has given me memories, friendships, competition and experiences that I will carry with me for a long time.

But at some point, I started thinking about what it meant to receive all of those things.

If football had given me so much, could I give something back?

That question became the starting point of this project.

Giving someone an opportunity

I did not want the project to simply be about money.

I wanted to create an opportunity for people to experience organised football.

That is why the tournament mattered to me.

The players were not professional footballers. They did not have packed stadiums watching them. There were no scouts waiting on the sidelines.

There was just a local ground, a group of teams and people who wanted to play.

But that was enough.

The tournament showed me that the value of football does not depend on the size of the audience.

For the players involved, those matches were real.

What I underestimated

I went into the project with a lot of enthusiasm.

What I underestimated was how much organisation was involved.

I had little previous experience organising something like this, and I learned quickly that there are dozens of things that need to be considered.

Weather.

Communication.

Equipment.

People.

Timing.

Planning.

Participation.

Balancing everything with school also made the process more difficult.

Looking back, I would plan much more carefully.

What I would do next

If I were to organise another tournament, I would not simply make the same tournament bigger.

I would make it better planned.

I would involve more people from the beginning. I would speak to the community earlier about what they actually wanted. I would think more carefully about the number of participants and how to include people who were left out.

I would also plan for problems rather than assuming everything would go according to schedule.

That is probably the biggest lesson I took away.

Beyond the tournament

The tournament ended after two days, but the reason I started it remains.

Football in Kolkata has a huge history.

It has famous clubs, legendary players, historic competitions and passionate supporters.

But football’s future also depends on the people who are playing it now.

Some will become professional players.

Many will not.

That does not make their experience of football less valuable.

Grassroots football gives people the opportunity to compete, learn, make friends and simply enjoy the game.

That is what I wanted to contribute to.

Beyond the Maidan is my attempt to look at that side of football — and to be a small part of it.