Last year, when Maruva Farzeen took to the turf in a five-a-side football tournament in Dindigul, she was the only girl with spikes on. Dodging past boys taller than her with the ball, the midfielder helped her team finish third in the competition.
Today, Maruva, 15, is a known face in her neighbourhood in Chennai’s Vyasarpadi, and trains at the SDAT sports hostel in Namakkal, under a full scholarship programme.
Maruva’s journey, from the congested lanes of North Chennai to the sprawling grounds of Namakkal, defines the struggle of the city’s children from disadvantaged backgrounds who — in a society that considers sports a distraction, or worse, a waste of time — find it hard to do what they like.
LatentView’s Skill Development Centre identifies children with a passion for the sport.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
So, when Maruva was spotted in 2022 by scouts for LatentView’s Chennai Kaalpandhu League (CKL) — a tournament involving under-13 students from Government schools — her father, Ussian Farzeen, an autorickshaw driver, was against her playing football. But her mother, Jasmine Farzeen, saw an opportunity. After Maruva’s school hours, she whisked her away to the ground — the mother and daughter enjoying a rare and fleeting moment of freedom. And Jasmine was right, the field made a winner of Maruva.
“Since childhood, Cristiano Ronaldo has been my biggest inspiration,” says Maruva. “I didn’t just dream of wearing a jersey, I wanted to be like him and help my team win. I want to keep playing as long as I can.”
M Umar in action
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
Every year, many Maruvas hop onto football grounds — as part of CKL, which promotes grassroots football — to break free from a rigmarole that is thrust onto them by a city where the green and open spaces are making way for concrete jungles and heat islands.
With scouts from Chennaiyin FC, LatentView’s Skill Development Centre identifies children with a passion for the sport. One such scouting led them to Saidapet, where they spotted M Umar, a raw football talent. Umar, now 14, impressed the coaches with his zeal, and his performances in the league earned him an opportunity to join the All India Football Federation’s Football Plus Academy in Chennai for six months, and a scholarship to train in Spain.
This year, nearly 500 students played in CKL, held from September 8 to 13 in Chennai.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
“The training at CKL helped me take part in zonal and district tournaments and I got a chance to go to Spain. While my parents are very supportive, I want to concentrate on my Class X exams for now,” he says. But unlike Umar, A Ishwarya, 13, whom the coaches spotted in the league two years ago, has set her eyes on football, forever.
Once her mother, A Venila, a domestic help, saw her daughter score 10 goals in the selection matches, she knew that the game could help the family escape poverty. So, sending Ishwarya to the SDAT hostel this year on a scholarship was an easy decision. Recalling that day, Ishwarya says, “My most exciting moment was getting selected for the scholarship. I am proud that I scored 10 goals in the trials!”
Pramad Jandhyala, LatentView’s co-founder, says they wanted to take a “holistic view at learning beyond the classroom… and sport became a natural choice”. With the growing popularity of football in Chennai, and sports being that great leveller in society, CKL could give Government school students a chance to be “a part of that culture”.
This year, nearly 500 students played in CKL, held from September 8 to 13 in Chennai. Of them, 20 will make the cut and join a two-year training programme involving Chennaiyin FC in which FIFA-accredited and SDAT-certified coaches will train them for State- and National-level trials. Like Maruva, Ishwarya and Umar, these players will learn to take small steps for a big leap.
Published – September 26, 2025 07:29 am IST
