A life-changer and a great leveller — that’s Kolkata Goalz, a project that has, in less than two years, picked diamonds from dust and polished them.

An initiative of Premier Skills, a global collaborative project between the English Premier League and the British Council, Kolkata Goalz was started in July 2011 for children aged 12 to 18. The project, supported by Calcutta police, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, nine Calcutta Premier League clubs, All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Indian Football Association (IFA), is now operational at 11 locations, including Kashiabagan Park near Beckbagan, Rabindra Kanan on Beadon Street, Hrishikesh Park on Amherst Street, Christopher Park in Tangra, Park Circus Maidan, Harish Park in Kalighat and Nadial in South 24-Parganas, where the project kicked off this April. The project is likely to reach Metiabruz soon.

Metro tells the stories of a few young boys, and a girl, who have dribbled their way out of poverty and hardships with their eye on just goal — making a mark on the football field — with help from Kolkata Goalz.

Arshyan Ali, 17

Football is his first love and he could give up everything else for the game. Five years ago, things were quite the opposite for Arshyan, who had to quit playing and take up a job to keep the family from starving.

Instead of going to school in the morning and playing football in the afternoon, Arshyan, then 12, spent the day working as a shop assistant in a south Calcutta mall. “I had no choice. My father’s printing business suffered a blow because of a change in electric supply. For more than a year, the machine couldn’t be operated,” said Arshyan. “It had become difficult to run the family of five. I had to take up a 10-8 job.”

Arshyan continued working for almost three years and would perhaps never have returned to the football ground had it not been for the launch of the Kolkata Goalz project at Kashiabagan Park.

The boy’s father, Reza Ali, heard the then East Bengal coach Trevor James Morgan and players like Sanju Pradhan, Mehtab Hossain and Tolgay Ozbe speak at the kick-off and wished to give his son back his life.

“He always wanted to become a footballer. By then my work had resumed, so I asked him to quit the job and enrol for the training programme,” Reza Ali said. Within a year of his return to the field, Arshyan was spotted by coaches Tarun Dey, Manojit Das and Arpan Dey, also in charge of East Bengal’s junior teams, and selected for the under-19 side.

Arshyan, a right back, remains immersed in football from dawn to night — watching matches on television when he is not practising or playing. “The days I don’t have practice session at East Bengal ground in the morning, I go to Park Circus Maidan for warm-up, running and stretching for at least two hours and the days I go to the club, I stay back after training to watch the seniors,” said the Daniel Alves fan, who closely follows the moves of Harmanjot Singh Khabra of East Bengal.

Md. Reyaz, 19

Reyaz was only seven when his parents passed away. A school dropout, he lives with three of his seven brothers. It was on the advice of one of his brothers that the boy, nicknamed “nylon ball magician” in the neighbourhood, joined a training session, conducted by East Bengal Club for Kolkata Goalz.

“I played football since childhood and always loved the game but never thought of taking it up seriously. It was more like a hobby. I had almost made up my mind to be a taxi driver when Kolkata Goalz came to Kashiabagan Park in 2011,” said Reyaz, whose skills as a midfielder impressed former footballer Trijit Das and earned him a place in the under-19 side of Aryan Club last year.

Recognition and appreciation have kindled dreams of being a star footballer and playing for big clubs like his idol Mehtab Hossain. But the East Bengal fan has his feet firm on the ground and wants to take it one step at a time. “I first want to secure a position in the senior team of Aryan Club,” he said.

Rohit, 16

A school dropout and son of a sex worker, Rohit (name changed) would drink all day till he discovered his love for the beautiful game.

Mohun Bagan coordinator Prince Rufus was selecting boys for the Rabindra Kanan project of Kolkata Goalz when he spotted Rohit playing and asked him to enrol for a training session.

“From Day 1, Rohit has been so involved on the field. He has attended almost every practice session. He has also stopped drinking and using foul language. He is now a completely different person and has set an example for others. He is a very talented footballer,” said Dipali Das, former India player and one of the coaches appointed by Mohun Bagan at Rabindra Kanan.

Rohit, a big fan of Sanju Pradhan, has also won a place in the Mohun Bagan under-18 Goalz squad that reached the final of Kolkata Goalz Cup. He hopes to prove his mettle as a striker and make it to a big club.

Sarmistha Dey, 14

Whoever said sports is a male domain hasn’t met Sarmistha. It’s cricket over cartoons and the beautiful game over Bollywood for this young fan of Virat Kohli and Lionel Messi.

As a child, Sarmistha would spend hours watching the para boys play football and dying to have a go but never had a chance. “When I came to know that there would be a project at Rabindra Kanan where we could learn football and karate, I instantly enrolled,” said the Class IX student at Ramjoy Seal Sishu Pathsala, who also learns karate. Sarmistha’s father does screen-printing while her mother teaches at a coaching centre run by an NGO.

The girl now dreams of playing for big clubs and donning national colours like her coach Dipali Das. For now, she’s happy watching Mohun Bagan and Barcelona matches.

Sarmistha has already inspired sister Trishna Dey to follow in her footsteps and join karate and football classes.

Imtiaz Hussain, 17

He stopped going to school after Class IX and didn’t know what he would do with his life till Kolkata Goalz reached Hrishikesh Park in September 2011.

Imtiaz started training under former Mohun Bagan footballer Abhay Kumar and soon got a call from Tangra FC that plays in the third division of the Calcutta Football League. He played for the club last season and is set to play this season too. He has also been playing for Mohun Bagan U-18 Goalz team since last year. Now he aims to catch the attention of Mohun Bagan coaches and win a place in the club’s senior squad.

“Imtiaz has great talent. He has a very good control on the ball. He can go a long way if he gets proper guidance,” Abhay Kumar said. Imtiaz plays in the central midfield like his idol Zinedine Zidane.

Football has also instilled discipline in Imtiaz, who has resumed studies and is planning to write his Class X examination.

Akshay Adhikary, 15

A television is an unaffordable luxury for Akshay’s father, a brick kiln worker. Every time there is a Messi match, the boy rushes to his uncle’s house to watch his idol play.

Akshay had always loved football but never had the money to buy a ball, let alone a jersey and a pair of boots. A resident of Nadial in South 24-Parganas, the boy didn’t think twice when he heard about Kolkata Goalz. He got a football kit and also the opportunity to train under former India player Habibur Rehman Mondal — one of the coaches George Telegraph has deputed for the Nadial project. “I needed an opportunity like this. Now when I have got it, I wouldn’t let it slip away,” said Akshay who plays as striker and is equally comfortable with both legs.

Coachspeak

For Abhay Kumar, coach at Hrishikesh Park, the most positive aspect that has emerged from the project is the boys’ love and dedication for the game. “They rarely miss the training sessions and come before time,” he said.

“Most of the boys have started from zero. They didn’t have jerseys, boots and couldn’t even shoot the ball properly. But they grabbed the chance and have improved remarkably,” said Habibur Rehman Mondal, who trains at Nadial.

“A lot of boys have great potential. If they get proper infrastructure and diet, they would surely prove themselves,” said former footballer Sanjay Majhi, one of the coaches appointed by East Bengal for the Kashiabagan project.

Coordinators’ say

Sankar Sarkar, the coordinator at Rabindra Kanan, describes the project as “a magic wand” that helps build character. “They have become more disciplined and responsible. They enjoy their involvement on the field,” Sarkar said.

Ashique Khanderkar, George Telegraph coordinator for the Nadial project, agrees. “The response has been overwhelming. When the project was announced in Nadial, there were 430 applicants. We shortlisted 101 after selection trials.”

What police say

The idea was to select locations with a concentration of people from the deprived section of the society. “We tried to bring them into the mainstream through football. The project has been a huge success. It has bridged the gap between police and common people. The crime rate in these locations has also gone down remarkably,” said Soven Banerjee, officer-in-charge, community policing wing of Calcutta police.