Kerala men’s and Chhattisgarh women’s team lift the National Inclusion Cup

The Kerala men’s team and the Chhattisgarh women’s team emerged victorious as champions of the 2018 National Inclusion Cup here at the Andheri Sports Complex. Kerala beat Vidarbha 8-3, while Chhattisgarh took the top honors in a closely fought encounter beating Uttarakhand 5-3.

Kerala, who entered the finals beating West Bengal on Thursday, rode on four goals from Praveen, together with Manikandan and Vishnu shooting eight past the Vidarbha side beating the favorites, Mumbai. The women’s final though was a closely fought contest where Chhattisgarh prevailed over Uttarakhand 5-3, thanks to Pranshu’s hattrick.

Vijay Barse from Nagpur had started the project ‘Slum Soccer’ around a decade ago for the underprivileged and if found a greater stage this year for the competition.

“While there are winners emerging from every tournament, for us, participants coming from across the country, including from Nepal,

was the real highlight of The National Inclusion Cup. This football tournament was played in the true spirit of participation and inclusiveness and that’s what defines our success.” said Barse.

Kedar Teny, Sr. VP Marketing & Promotions, Sports, Sony Pictures Networks India said, “Ironic as it may sound, while there will be a men's team and a women's team that will represent India in the World Cup for the homeless at the end of this National Inclusion Cup, the hope  that slum soccer has provided to these children with little or no hope is amazing and incredible. It’s providing them hope, exposure, love, and an opportunity to develop into leaders, and most importantly, an opportunity to develop into better human beings. It’s the kind of social engineering that India needs. This is a great example of small actions that make a big difference.”

Since its inception in 2002, The National Inclusion Cup has taken place across various cities in India. From 2010 onwards, the organisers added the women’s category to the event. The first tournament was held in Nagpur with 16 states participating. Till date, the National Inclusion Cup has engaged 4580 underprivileged youth, while 180 men and women from underprivileged backgrounds have represented India at the Homeless World Cup since 2007.