The DreamChasers football talent hunt, which is being launched by Proforce, with a commitment to nurture and promote selected footballers for a period of five years, is set to kick start the selection process from the second week of April.
The first round of selection trials for candidates from Mumbai (Western Region) will be conducted at the Cambridge School grounds, Kandivali on Saturday, April 16 & Sunday, April 17. The opening round for Navi Mumbai candidates will be organized at the Ryan International School grounds, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai on Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24.
The selection trials in Thane will be conducted at the Hiranandani High School ground, Hiranandani Estate, Thane (W) on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1.
The Cooperage ground is the venue for children from Mumbai (South & Central Region) and will be held on Tuesday, May 3 and Wednesday, May 4.
After the completion of the first round of trials in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane regions, DreamChasers will conduct trials (1st rounds) in Pune (May 7-8), Kolhapur (May 14-15), Baroda (May 21) and Gandhinagar (May 22).
The second round of trials for these regions will commence from the first week of June and will be completed by July end.
The first round of selection trials for candidates from Kerala, Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati will be conducted in August.
DreamChasers, is mentored by Indian Football captain Sunil Chhetri as the Brand Ambassador, and will be associated with Europe’s top club, Sporting Clube de Portugal (SCP), which will provide the coaching staff and will be responsible for providing the highest standards of international football coaching as well as technical support to 15 selected boys in the 8-14 years age group for a period of 5 years.
Initially, DreamChasers hopes to target around 30,000 young footballers across all centres in the first round of selection, which will analyse the football skills of the trainees according to the Sporting Clube de Portugal (SCP) curriculum. 3000 trainees will qualify for round two at an average of 200 per venue. From these, 45 will be picked for round three, who will be screened in Mumbai by talent scouts from SCP. From these 45 the best 15 will be selected.
The final 15 players will be entitled to a 14-days sponsored training camp at SCP. They will also be inducted into the special training program, which is a commitment for five years. These 15 will be based at the residential training centre of Proforce in Kolhapur, where, besides football training, their education as well as lodging and boarding will also be looked after. The program will include 10 months of football training in Kolhapur and one month of free training every year at SCP.
The final lot of selected footballers will be nurtured and undergo professional 360 degree training until the age of 18 at the residential training centre of Proforce — housed at the Dr. Cyrus Poonawala International School in Kolhapur.
A coach from SCP will be sent to stay with the trainees in Kolhapur with an Indian as his assistant.
Selection trials (First round) schedule:
April 16-17: Mumbai (Western Region) — at the Cambridge School grounds, Kandivali.
April 23-24: Navi Mumbai — at the Ryan International School grounds, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai.
April 30-May 1: Thane region — at the Hiranandani High School ground, Hiranandani Estate, Thane (W).
May 3-4: Mumbai (South & Central Region) – at the Cooperage ground, Churchgate-Colaba.
May 7-8: Pune.
May 14-15: Kolhapur.
May 21: Baroda.
May 22: Gandhinagar.
The second round of trials for these regions will commence from the first week of June and will be completed by July end.
The first round of selection trials for candidates from Kerala, Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati will be conducted in August.