Guwahati, Oct. 8: Sometimes being on the sidelines has its benefits. Sushanta Narzary and Biplab Das will vouch for it.

They are among the 32 Sports Authority of India (SAI) trainees who have been selected as ball boys for the Fifa U-17 World Cup matches at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here. The Guwahati leg kicked off this evening with France walloping New Caledonia 7-1.

Those making it big from the "sidelines" include Fabio Cannavaro of Italy, Philipp Lahm of Germany and Wayne Rooney of England. They started as ball boys and went on to become global football stars.

Sushanta and Biplab, from Kokrajhar and Guwahati SAI centres respectively, were "extremely excited and proud" of being associated with the mega event.

As ball boys, they are required to retrieve the ball as soon as it goes out of play so that the match is not held up.

"We are happy with the opportunity. We hope to learn from watching the teams at play and during the practice sessions and improve our game so we too can play in the big league one day. Sometimes it's good to be on the sidelines," one of them said.

Subhash Basumatary, SAI regional director, Guwahati, told The Telegraph that 28 boys have been deployed at the match venue while four are at the practice venue at Nehru Stadium.

There are also two coaches in-charge from Assam with the boys. Guwahati will host nine ties.

"Happy for our boys who will surely benefit from this exposure by being present at the competition venue. They were trained by Fifa and all of them were provided with Fifa kits, which has become one of their treasured possessions," Basumatary said.

He had "approached" Fifa to engage SAI trainees during the event so they could gather exposure and experience at the "right" time because it will further boost football in the region.

Ten of the players in the India U-17 squad are from the Northeast.

Sushanta and Biplab are hoping to make the most of this "right" opportunity coming their way at the "right" time.