Our mission is simple

The SOFE Story: Through the Years

From a tiny grassroots grassroots football with structured academic support, fostering lifelong leadership from the pitch to the classroom.

Help Us Dream

FROM THEN TO NOW

THE EVOLUTION OF SOFE THROUGH THE YEARS

Explore our evolution from a grassroots football initiative to a transformative dual-pathway academy combining athletics and academic excellence.

SO FE

2014

WHEN IT ALL STARTED

It started with a very simple thought: “Let’s do something.” The idea had first come up in 2013, among a small group of Liverpool fans in Kolkata. They could passionately support and celebrate one of the greatest football clubs in the world from thousands of miles away, but at the same time, there was a frustration about where Indian football stood. Somewhere in those conversations came a simple question: could they do something, however small, themselves?

They had no blueprint. No infrastructure. Not even a clear idea of what that “something” would eventually become. In 2014, that thought took them to Dihi, a village in Sonarpur. The roads were barely there, but the enthusiasm for football certainly was. There were children eager to play and learn, and all they needed was an opportunity. So they began with something very basic: training children below the age of 15 in football. There was no grand plan for SOFE then. Just a few young people, a football, a lot of hope, and an ambition much bigger than the resources they had. That simple “Let’s do something” became the beginning of a dream.

 

2014–2016

LEARNING, STRUGGLING , BELIEVING

What started with “Let’s do something” slowly began to take shape.

Around 20 children were identified to form the first group at SOFE. At the time, they were fortunate to meet a coach from the community who was already working with children and football in the area. He believed in what they were trying to start and willingly came on board to train the children. There was no discussion about money because, at that point, there really was no money to discuss. He volunteered his time, the children came to play, and a simple commitment was made: every Sunday, there would be football.

Those Sundays soon became a ritual. Most of the people behind SOFE were still students themselves. A few would wake up around 5 in the morning, prepare simple food at home, sometimes chapatis and mashed potatoes, and begin a journey of nearly an hour and a half by local train and auto to reach the ground. Around Sonarpur station, they would often pick up bananas, cakes or sweets for the children. With no convenient transport to the village, autos sometimes had to be specially reserved just to reach there.

Then came two to two-and-a-half hours of football. Drills, training, matches, laughter and learning. Kits were arranged for the children, and slowly those 20 young faces began to look and feel like a team. The journey back was another story. There was hardly any transport available from the ground. On most Sundays, after hours of training, they would walk nearly 1.5 kilometres just to find a way back. If they were lucky, something would come along to give them a ride. There were struggles everywhere, but something beautiful was growing alongside them. And then came a moment that made all those early mornings, long journeys and walks worthwhile. The children went on to represent their school and became champions of Kolkata in a competition featuring 64 school teams. In just a couple of years, a group that had begun with almost nothing had already created memories that would last forever. They were still learning what SOFE could becme. But they had already learnt one thing: the dream was worth the struggle.

 

2017–2018

THE PAUSE, NOT THE END

Then came perhaps the most difficult chapter of SOFE’s early journey. 

A combination of financial limitations, social misunderstandings and circumstances beyond the project’s control slowly began to pull apart what had been built over the previous few years. The people running SOFE were themselves still very young. They had started with passion and good intentions, but had little experience in dealing with the complex social challenges that can emerge while working within a community.

Some situations needed maturity and understanding that they simply did not possess at the time. Financially too, sustaining the project was becoming increasingly difficult. Slowly, SOFE began to fade away. But the most heartbreaking part was not the project stopping. It was watching what happened to the children. For many of them, football had provided a few hours every week to dream beyond their immediate circumstances. When that disappeared, life took over. Some began working in leather factories. Some became helpers, labourers or masons. Others took up whatever work was available to support themselves and their families. Football, something they had grown to love, had to be left behind. For everyone who had been part of SOFE, there was a deep sense of helplessness. Something they had built with so much hope seemed to have come to an end, and they were simply not equipped at that age to know how to save it. For a while, the ground went quiet. The dream had stopped. But somewhere, it hadn’t completely disappeared.

2018–2019

FINDING OUR WAY BACK

For almost two years, the dream remained quiet. But the people behind it never really stopped thinking about what had gone wrong and, more importantly, what they could do differently if they ever got another chance.

By September 2018, a few of them started coming together again. They knew they were still learning and that many challenges would continue to come their way. But this time, passion alone would not be enough. If SOFE was going to return, it needed continuity, accountability and a more sustainable foundation.

That was when a simple idea emerged: Patronship. Around eight to ten people came forward initially, each committing as little as ₹500 every month. The amount was modest, but the thought behind it was significant. SOFE would no longer depend on one or two individuals whenever something needed to be done. Instead, a community of people would collectively take responsibility for keeping the dream alive. Then something beautiful happened. They began reaching out to friends and people who had known the project. Almost everyone they approached responded with the same emotion: SOFE needed to come back. People pledged their support, became patrons and slowly that small circle of eight or ten began to grow. Alongside this, conversations restarted with the coach. This time, the intention was to build something more structured, professional and sustainable. And in 2019, SOFE returned. A new group of around 20–25 children, primarily between 12 and 14 years of age, was brought together. New kits were arranged, training increased from once to twice a week, and the project restarted with a much clearer sense of responsibility towards its children and its future. SOFE had returned with more experience, more people standing behind it and a stronger foundation beneath the dream. Sometimes finding your way back is not about starting again from zero. It is about returning with everything the difficult years taught you..

2020–2021

WHEN THE WORLD STOOD STILL

Just when SOFE had started finding its feet again, the world came to a standstill.

Within months of the restart, the COVID-19 pandemic brought football training to a complete halt. For SOFE, however, stopping everything was never really an option. The concern was simple: if the children became completely disconnected once again, many of them could be pushed back into circumstances where football would disappear from their lives and work would take over far too early. So football paused, but SOFE did not. Keeping every possible COVID precaution in place, the children continued to remain connected with the project. A small space was found on the coach’s rooftop, where they could gather in limited numbers, maintain distance and continue with yoga, stretching, fitness and basic physical activities. The purpose was not only to keep them active. It was to make sure that the habit of coming together, learning together and staying connected to SOFE was never broken.

During those months, another challenge became even bigger. Many families lost their livelihoods. For households already living with very limited resources, the pandemic created an immediate struggle for basic necessities. That was when SOFE’s responsibility extended far beyond the football field. Separate crowdfunding efforts were started, and with the support of patrons, well-wishers and kind individuals from across India and beyond, SOFE was able to provide ration and essential supplies to the families of its children for nearly six to seven months. Football had taken a backseat, but the relationship had not. When the world stood still, SOFE simply found another way to stand beside its children and their families.

2022–2024

BEGINNING AGAIN, DREAMING AGAIN

Just when SOFE had started finding its feet again, the world came to a standstill.

When life slowly returned to normal after COVID, SOFE returned with a determination to do much more than simply restart. The difficult years had changed the way the project looked at its future. This time, the ambition was bigger, the support system was stronger, and the focus was on laying the groundwork for something that could grow both in scale and, more importantly, in quality. From one ground, SOFE gradually expanded its presence to four training grounds, reaching children from around 10–12 small villages and communities. The number of children grew from around 20 to 40, and eventually to nearly 140. More coaches joined the journey, a Technical Head was brought on board, and the football programme became far more structured and serious.

At the same time, the circle of patrons continued to grow. What had once started with a handful of people contributing ₹500 a month evolved into one of the country’s larger community-supported and crowdfunded grassroots sports initiatives. But perhaps the biggest change was in understanding that the dream could no longer be limited to football. SOFE began stepping beyond the pitch. Computer education and spoken English classes were introduced. Free medical clinics were organised for the children and the community. More people from the local communities became involved, and the project slowly started building an ecosystem around the children rather than only a football programme. The numbers were growing, but numbers alone were never going to define the journey. With more patrons, more people on the ground and a much bigger responsibility towards its children, SOFE entered this phase with a renewed ambition: to reach more children, create more opportunities and continuously improve the quality of everything it offered. The dream had returned. This time, it was ready to become much bigger than football.

2025–Present

BECOMING MORE THAN WE IMAGINED

What began years ago with a simple “Let’s do something” has slowly grown into something even those who started SOFE could perhaps never have fully imagined. The results began to show, not just in numbers, but in the lives and futures of the children.

Players from SOFE started earning opportunities with some of the biggest names in Indian football. Today, seven children from SOFE are part of the residential academies of Bengaluru FC and South United FC on full scholarships. Several others have earned opportunities with clubs and academies including East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting Club. For children growing up with limited opportunities, these were much more than football placements. They were pathways towards a different future. And by now, SOFE itself had become a much bigger project. Training that once happened only on Sundays now happens every day, and sometimes even twice a day. SOFE organises its own trials, tournaments and competitive opportunities, while continuously finding ways for its children to play, compete, travel and experience football beyond their immediate surroundings.

But the journey is no longer only about creating better footballers. Today, SOFE supports children through football, academics, education and exposure, trying to create an environment where their development does not stop when they leave the football field. The idea is to support the child as a whole, giving them opportunities to learn, compete, experience new things and discover possibilities they may otherwise never have encountered.

The community has grown with the project too. What had once been a few young people arriving every Sunday with footballs and food has become something that families can trust with their children and their dreams. Coaches, educators, volunteers, patrons, guardians, partners and well-wishers have gradually become part of the same journey. There is now a collective sense of ownership, optimism and belief around what these children can achieve. There are bigger ambitions ahead and countless things still to learn. But today, there is something much stronger than what existed when the journey began in 2014: Belief. Belief among the children. Belief among their families. Belief within the community. And belief among everyone who has chosen to stand beside them. SOFE started by trying to give a few children a chance to play football. Somewhere along the way, it became a community coming together to give its children a better chance at lifeCoaches, educators, volunteers, patrons, guardians, partners and well-wishers have gradually become part of the same journey. There is now a collective sense of ownership, optimism and belief around what these children can achieve. There are bigger ambitions ahead and countless things still to learn. But today, there is something much stronger than what existed when the journey began in 2014: Belief. Belief among the children. Belief among their families. Belief within the community. And belief among everyone who has chosen to stand beside them. SOFE started by trying to give a few children a chance to play football. Somewhere along the way, it became a community coming together to give its children a better chance at life.

Sofe Pathway

From a Football to a Future

Grassroots & Community

SOFE reaches children within local communities and gives them a safe, structured space to discover football, friendship and the joy of simply playing.

Football & Education

As children grow with SOFE, football goes hand in hand with education, co-curricular learning, life skills, vocational exposure and personal development.

Training, Exposure & Development

Regular training, competitive football, tournaments, trials, mentoring and new experiences help children discover their abilities and build confidence beyond their surroundings.

 

Pathways & Possibilities

Whether the journey leads to a professional academy, higher education, a vocation or a different ambition, SOFE works to ensure every child has the opportunity to dream of a better future.

SOFE , BEYOND FOOTBALL

A WILLINGNESS TO DO MORE

At SOFE, football is only the beginning. We use the love of the game as a pathway to education, skills and a more sustainable future. Through digital classrooms, Spoken English and computer training, children gain knowledge and confidence beyond the football field. We also support the wider community through dedicated youth leadership and development initiatives.

Digital Classrooms

Interactive technology and digital learning tools bridging the educational divide for inspiring student athletes.

 

Workshops & Academics

Building vocal confidence, fluency, and global communication skills that empower children on and off the field.

 

Community Support

Extending resources, workshops, and mentorship programs to families and the wider local community.