For a second this would've confuse you a little bit. No, we are not talking about the world cup 2010 or FIFA world cup, but this one is special. Although the event was over in march it still has the signs of things to come, in indian football.
Image not recovered: Team India wins 2010 World Cup in South Africa Rurka Kalan, a small village in Jalandhar, is fast emerging as a grooming ground for aspiring footballers in Punjab, thanks to the efforts of the Youth Football Club (YFC), which works with the underprivileged children.
These YFC children made a strong statement at the recently held Street Child World Cup in Durban (South Africa) between March 15 to 21, winning the inaugural seven-a-side event.
The team, which is aided and supported by I-League team JCT Club and the Punjab government, was clubbed in group B with Nicaragua, Ukraine and South Africa.
After the group stages, India overcame England 3-1 in the semis and Tanzania 1-0 in the final. "This experience will help us a lot in the future," said YFC founder Gurmangal Dass Soni.
One of the former YFC boys, Anwar, is now a part of the Indian team and coach Kulwant Singh told TOI that he was hopeful that "many more would follow in the path of Anwar" who is now playing for India and Dempo in I-League.
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Saturday 1 May 2010, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.