NEW DELHI JOSH FOOTBALL ACADEMY (2010-2020)

IYSA operated the New Delhi Josh Academy (2010-2020) (Josh is a Hindi word meaning “fighting spirit”, pronounced “Joe-sh”).

The Academy was based at a sports field in a Delhi Government Education Centre. It was a community based Academy for children and youth living in villages, concrete slums, and low income colonies close to the field. These children studied mainly in Government schools such as Sarvodaya Vidyalayas, Municipal corporation schools or were enrolled in the Economic Weaker Section (EWS) category in Private schools.

Since the start in the year 2010, over 1000 Govt. School boys in total were given football coaching free of cost; approximately 120- 150 boys were training every year. Most of these boys and youth were from underprivileged & economically weaker sections who couldn’t afford fees in commercial Academies and did not have access to a playing field. Details of the Academy were:

Program structure:

The Academy football coaching was after school hours on weekdays in various age groups; matches and competitions were played over the weekends. The structure of the Academy.

A) Grassroots: Starting young for ages Under 7, U9, U11, and U12 coaching basic techniques and basic game principles.

B) Youth teams: Boys in Under 13, U14, U15 & U18 age groups with a higher level of training and tactics; participation in youth leagues and tournaments. Players were selected after a trial.

C) Community Leagues for Under 15 and Under 13 ages and Mini Leagues for Under 12, Under 9 and Under 7 ages were organized during the summer holidays and winter months.

 

Coaches:

The Academy had coaches with AIFF licenses with past playing experience in Clubs in the Delhi Soccer Association Leagues. IYSA has also developed a partnership with Arsenal Football Club, UK where Arsenal Community Coaches travelled to India and coached the players in the Academy from January to April annually.

Achievements:

The New Delhi Josh Academy participated in the AIFF Under 15 (2015-16), Under 16 (2016-17) and Under 18 Youth Leagues (2017-18), reaching the top 16 National Round in 2017. Academy teams also participated in the Delhi Soccer Association Inter Academy Championships and the Delhi Youth League (DYL) winning 3 DYL championship titles.

Players also participated in State Teams, Clubs and the National Youth team.

Player Support:

Part of our objective is to also support players. IYSA provided playing kit, football boots, etc., annually to players selected in the Academy. Players also got refreshment on match days. Boys in older age group teams were also given cash scholarships especially when they were playing in tournaments and leagues.

Players in the Academy had access to the necessary training equipment from goal posts for different match formats; 5 a side, 7, 9 to 11 a side. Footballs, cones, bibs, etc are available. To know how we support our players click here.

Field:

The Academy had use of a full size 100 m x 62 m field for training and matches. IYSA maintained the field at its own cost ensuring a good training surface and employed ground staff (mali’s).

Costs:

The Academy was run free of cost and funds to operate it were raised through individual and corporate donations.