Kolkata As the FIFA World Cup reaches its climax far from India, with stadiums packed and fans cheering their teams, a group of children in Kolkata is fighting a very different battle for their love of the same game. Their biggest opponents are not rival teams, but prejudice, social taboos, and the daily struggle to find a patch of ground to practise on.For the children of Meye-Cheleder Khela (Girls and Boys Play Together), football is less about trophies than freedom.
A member of the team during a match.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Run by the NGO Bondhu Collective, the mixed-gender team brings together children aged between seven and 20 from Kolkata’s Kalighat red-light area and nearby underprivileged neighbourhoods. Boys and girls train side by side, challenging the long-held belief that football is a sport meant primarily for men.The team has around 20 members, some of whom have been playing for the past five years, while others joined about three years ago.
