The 10-day long grassroots selection festivals organised by the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) clubs in collaboration with the league have come to an end today. The final selection festival was held at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi as the grassroots initiative moves into a key phase. The grassroots selection festivals that began in Guwahati on April 7 and ended today in Delhi saw an admirable participation from 1485 children through the eight festivals. Children flocked in from various corners of their respective states to take part and hone their skills on the pitch.The individual turnout for each club-orgainsed festival is listed below:NorthEast United FC Grassroots Festival (Guwahati), April 7: 122FC Goa Grassroots Festival (Vasco), April 9: 182Chennaiyin FC Grassroots Festival (Chennai), April 11: 192Atlético de Kolkaka Grassroots Festival (Kolkata), April 12: 170Mumbai City FC Grassroots Festival (Navi Mumbai), April 13: 188Kerala Blasters FC Grassroots Festival (Thrissur), April 14: 225FC Pune City Grassroots Festival (Pune), April 15: 206Delhi Dynamos FC Grassroots Festival (Delhi), April 16: 200Every festival was presided over by Piet Hubers, ISL Grassroots Technical Director alongside the Clubs’ respective grassroots technical directors and coaches. The children were divided into three categories according to their age. The groups were assorted by the year of birth i.e. 2002, 2003 and 2004. The children completed three technical skill-based drills followed by a position play drill and two small-sided games (4v4 and 7v7) depending on the number of participants under the guidance of Hubers, the respective clubs’ technical directors and coaches.The selection process was based on a number of attributes exhibited by the children. Their contribution to the team alongside their individual abilities on the ball were put to the test. Hubers explained the selection criteria in the simplest fashion.“We were looking at their Technique, Insight and Communication in the game. We were looking at how each child contributes to the overall performance of the team, be it in attacking, defending and most importantly during transition from attack to defence or from defence to attack. No player is complete unless he possesses all three of these attributes, all of which are equally important,” said Hubers, who is also UEFA’s Technical Grassroots Instructor.Looking at what comes next; the 200 most talented children from all eight Club-organised selection festivals will be chosen to participate in the National Selection Camp for the Reliance Foundation Young Champs scholarship programme in the month of May.
