FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ hosts Kick Off The Dream™ Football Carnival in Bhubaneswar with 500 children
Bhubaneswar: The inaugural Odisha edition of Kick Off The Dream Football Carnival, a special legacy initiative of Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022, was held at KIIT University Cricket Ground here on Saturday.
Founder, KIIT and KISS and MP Achyuta Samanta; former India national volleyball team player GE Sridharan and other dignitaries from the state and Project Director, LOC FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022, Nandini Arora were present.
Sports & Youth Services Minister Tusharkanti Behera said, “The nature of this Kick Off The Dream Football Carnival is one of celebration and learning. Through its various activities, children are engaging with the game and each other in a positive manner. Football has the power to create leaders and empower all members of society. This carnival leverages those inspiring aspects of the beautiful game in normalising inclusivity in the minds of children”.
More than 500 children participated in various activities with great excitement. The highlights of the day included a header challenge, a football-style dart board challenge, a freekick challenge, and kids lending expression to their creativity on canvas through brush and colours. A 5-vs-5 football challenge was also organised, in which multiple teams engaged in healthy competition.
Ibha, the official mascot of the 2022 edition of the biennial youth tournament, was an instant hit among the children.
“It is pleasing to see gender-inclusivity in the turnout and we are convinced of making a positive impact through such events en route to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup,” said Arora.
Since its pilot in April 2022, the Kick Off The Dream Football Carnival has engaged over 2000 children and mothers across four venues in Maharashtra, Goa and Odisha. More editions of the carnival will be hosted in the lead up to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in October this year.
