






gender ratio in our Community Learning Centers in 2022



Case Studies
Despite losing their home and belongings to a fire, 13-year-old Poonam Gautam offered to help her family by getting a job, but her father insisted that she focus on her studies. Poonam then joined OSCAR’s football and life skills sessions, eventually becoming an OSCAR Young Leader and working to promote gender equity. Although she faced challenges, including gender stereotypes, Poonam persisted and was selected to represent OSCAR at the FIFA Foundation festival during the 2018 World Cup, ultimately inspiring her community to send more children, especially girls, to participate in football and life skills sessions. In recognition of her achievements, she was once again invited by the FIFA Foundation to attend the 2022 World Cup.
Priya has been with OSCAR since she was 10. She played football for the first time at OSCAR and slowly developed her skills and excelled in the technical aspects of the game. She also improved her decision making skills on and off the field after attending life skills sessions on the topic. She represented OSCAR and India in Denmark in 2019 where our girls team won the Dana Cup, one of the largest tournaments in the world. Priya was recently selected to represent Maharashtra in the U18 category. Today, she continues to shine for Maharashtra with hopes of breaking into future India squads.
Priya belongs to the Ambedkar Nagar community and lives with her parents and 2 siblings. Her mother is a domestic help while her father is a cook at a nearby coffee shop.
Anita started playing with OSCAR in 2014 in our Jharkhand project. She impressed her coaches and rapidly progressed with her football skills. She also started communicating confidently with her teammates and family members after attending our life skills sessions. These sessions also helped cope with stressful situations that she faced in her community. She was a key member of our 1st girls school tour in the United Kingdom and was also part of our team that won the Dana Cup in 2019. Her talent was identified by National team selectors and she was selected to represent India in youth levels. She represented India at the U17 FIFA World Cup, having already represented her country at the U-18 South Asian Football Federation.
Anita is from a small village in Jharkhand and comes from a family of farmers. She has 2 sisters.
Netravati joined OSCAR’s football and life skills session at Colaba in 2017. Netra regularly attended football and life skill sessions at OSCAR Foundation, developing her leadership and communication skills while improving her technical football skills. She realised the issues faced by younger girls in her community and related their experiences to her own. Inspired by the urge to make a difference in their lives, she enrolled to become a Young Leader. After graduating as a Young Leader, she went back to her community and mobilised a group of 35 children, weaving through complex societal structures and tackling conservatism and patriarchy. She also enrolled a transgender person, a huge step towards inclusivity for us as an organisation. In recognition of her efforts at OSCAR, she was selected by Manchester City FC to represent India at the Cityzens Giving Global Young Leader summit in Manchester. Netra was recognised as a Premier League Community Captain by Manchester City for her contributions to Sport for Development in India. Netra also earned her All India Football Federation coaching badges in 2022.
Govind’s life has been marked by peaks and troughs. Despite growing up as a bright student, he was forced to drop out of school and work as a child labourer due to financial struggles. Two years later, he was introduced to OSCAR which was a turning point in his life. Govind became a participant and slowly started building his way up eventually becoming an assistant manager, helping OSCAR reach nearly 5000 beneficiaries with a special focus on children with disabilities, our project in rural Karnataka and our Young Leaders. He also launched ‘Enabling Change’, a disability inclusion project providing football and life skills sessions to over 100 students. Govind also earned a scholarship to study Sport Management in Leipzig, Germany. In recognition of his achievements, Govind was invited as a Youth Ambassador to the 2022 World Cup among many other prestigious Sports for Development festivals and events.
Omkar has been associated with the OSCAR Foundation for the last seven years and has been a member of our I-League team for the past three years. Prior to joining OSCAR, he did not have access to opportunities as a football player. However, since joining, Omkar has experienced new things, met new people, and improved his football skills and technique.
Through the guidance of OSCAR Foundation, Omkar has been able to pursue his passion for football and has achieved success. He has been selected for the Mumbai City FC U18 Squad and has played in various tournaments such as the 2nd Div I League and U21 Reliance Development League. Omkar’s story is a testament to the positive impact that OSCAR has on the lives of children by providing them with access to opportunities, mentorship, and guidance to help them achieve their dreams.
Parvez has been with OSCAR Foundation for the last seven years. He found his passion for football at the age of 10 and was selected to play for OSCAR’s football excellence project. Since then, he has focused on football and completed his studies under the guidance of OSCAR’s coaches. Through his dedication and hard work, Parvez played in the I-League for 5 years and recently got selected for the U-18 team at Mumbai City FC.
According to Parvez’s first coach Rupesh, he has faced many difficulties in his life, including living in an unsafe area where his house has burnt down twice and thefts are common. However, with the support of his peers and family, Parvez was able to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer. OSCAR Foundation has played a crucial role in shaping his life by teaching him leadership skills, building self-respect, and helping him become goal-oriented.
Shraddha joined OSCAR as she was intrigued by the concept of ‘sports for development’. After attending football and life skills sessions, she was determined to recreate the environment of fun and learning for children in her own community. She enrolled to become a Young Leader and then started a football and life skills batch at a new location, Thane. The increasing interest among beneficiaries and parents led to the creation of another batch exclusively for girls. Her efforts at OSCAR attracted global attention. She was invited to Qatar and Russia to participate in legacy initiatives for the FIFA World Cup. During this time, Shraddha was also developing her skills in design and illustration. She joined OSCAR’s Communications Team in 2018 and contributed to the strengthening of OSCAR’s brand and digital aids. Shraddha currently works at the Communications department at a Bangalore based IT firm and freelances as a designer. Our football and life skills sessions at Thane continue to be popular with over 80 children participating annually.
Rupa joined OSCAR Foundation in 2013 and attended our sessions in Cuffe Parade. When she joined OSCAR, she wore jerseys, shorts and shoes for the first time in her life. Despite pressures from within her community, she regularly participated in our football and life skills sessions for 6 years. During this time, she developed an interest in athletics and worked extensively on her fitness. She realised that she was quite fit from regular football sessions and from walking everywhere as she could not afford the bus fare. Motivated by her peers and coaches, she started participating in long distance runs and excelled in them. She also attained one of the best times for a 10k run at the TATA Mumbai Marathon. She has since run many races collecting many medals in the process. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rupa enrolled as a Home Guard and provided safety in quarantine wards and local trains. She is steadily working towards her dream of becoming a police officer to improve the lives of her family.
Sagar started playing for OSCAR when he was 12. Initially Sagar was reserved but soon gained confidence and developed his communication skills after attending our life skills sessions. He quickly impressed his coaches and was selected in our U15 Excellence Football team where he participated in the youth i-league. He was also selected for camps in the UK and Portugal and gained considerable exposure through English club Queens Park Rangers. In 2019, he was selected to represent OSCAR at our UK Schools Tour and also made it into the Mumbai District Team. Along with Rakesh, Sagar too was selected for Bengaluru FC.
Sagar belongs to the Ambedkar Nagar community. His parents are daily wage labourers who work at the fishing docks to earn a living.
Saba, a Young Leader with OSCAR for over 5 years, has shown outstanding leadership and has become a role model for youth in her community. Despite growing up in a conservative community and facing various challenges, Saba rose above them, developed her own skills and had a positive impact on the lives of many young girls in our programme. Recently, her contributions to the community were recognised when she was awarded the Beyond Sport Courageous Use of Sport Award, presented by WWE. Saba was not only awarded for her work with OSCAR but also for her own S4D initiatives that she started. She began conducting walking football sessions for women in her community, helping them stay active and engaged while creating a safe space for interactions on a number of topics. Saba is a true community leader whose actions are shining a bright light on OSCAR’s work in its communities.
Case Studies
Kajal
Kajal
Kajal, a 12-year-old beneficiary of OSCAR Foundation, has shown remarkable improvement in her football skills since joining our football and life skills programme in 2019. She is now an all-round player and has a great bond with her teammates. Moreover, her coaches have observed positive changes in Kajal’s communication skills, self-awareness, and goal orientation after attending our life skills sessions on these topics. Kajal has also become a positive influence on those around her and participated in community awareness initiatives aimed at engaging with parents on the importance of encouraging girls to take up sports. Kajal’s parents are grateful to OSCAR for providing a platform for their children to play sports and hope that more parents will encourage their children to study and play sports. While Kajal has not decided on her future plans, she is determined to continue her studies and encourage her siblings to do the same.
Rushikesh
Rushikesh
Rushikesh, a 16-year-old boy from Cottongreen, Kala Chowki Nagar, credits the OSCAR Football and life skills programme for changing his life. Before joining the programme, his academic performance was average, and he displayed mischievous behaviour. However, following the sessions, he became physically active, gained confidence, and developed a progressive mindset. He claims that the coaches have taught him many things, including dealing with people with different points of view and sharing the knowledge one possesses. Thanks to OSCAR, Rushikesh has started to study regularly, and his public perception has shifted among his peers, teachers, parents, and community. He even received a scholarship opportunity for further education provided by the United World College (UWC) of the Adriatic in Italy. Rushikesh expresses his gratitude to the OSCAR Foundation for altering his way of thinking and instilling confidence in him to explore opportunities he would have never attempted. He believes OSCAR played an important role in teaching him essential life skills that have allowed him to accomplish many more things in his life.
Mahi
Mahi
Mahi is a 14-year-old girl from a low-income community in Mumbai, who lives with her family. Her parents work as a domestic help and cook respectively. Mahi, who is currently in the 8th grade, lost interest in her studies due to an environment that actively discouraged and displayed indifference towards her education and future. However, her life changed for the better when she joined OSCAR’s football and life skills programme 3 years ago. OSCAR helped her realise the importance of education and develop her confidence, which in turn has slowly moulded her into a community leader. Through life skills sessions, Mahi learnt to cope with emotions and stress, helping her to find a balance at home. Mahi’s participation in extracurricular activities like music classes and leadership sessions at OSCAR has helped her broaden her horizons. She now aspires to become an IAS officer and build a successful career for herself.
Khushi
Khushi
Khushi, a 15-year-old student from Vile Parle East, has transformed her life since joining the OSCAR Foundation. Initially lacking knowledge and confidence, Khushi has blossomed both academically and personally. In her two years with OSCAR, she has not only developed her football skills but also acquired essential life skills such as self-awareness, emotional coping, and interpersonal abilities. Khushi has become more physically active, confident, and engaged in all activities. The foundation’s coaches and trainers have instilled important values and leadership skills in her. Despite facing challenges like limited family support and community problems, Khushi sees OSCAR Foundation as the best organization she has known. Its supportive environment, comprehensive teachings, and focus on holistic growth have helped her thrive both socially and individually.