Aarti Mishra / Raipur

Mustaq Ali has met three boys from Abujmad, a remote area of Chhattisgarh affected by Naxal-left wing extremist violence, in a chance encounter. Something in them impressed the football coach and he decided to take them under his wings.

Apparently the three - Rajkumar, Ashish Gota and Ganeshram – could no way afford to live in Raipur for getting trained under this famous football coach. Mushtaq Ali lodged them in his Shera Club that he set up as a football coaching academy.

For five years, it was home to the three boys from Abujmad.

They lived in what they call ‘Ashram’ free of cost. Mushtaq Ali took care of all their expenses including schooling till they passed 12^th standard.

Even after the three left the Ashram, he continued to support them financially till they were on their feet.

Mustaq has also imparted coaching to many more footballers from Abujmad.

Today, Mustaq Ali is proud to see Rajkumar playing for Indian Railways, Ashish working in Gota Forest as a government official and Ganeshram employed with the Post and Telegraph department of the central government.

They are a few names that come to Mustaq Ali’s mind quickly while speaking of scores of his students at the Football academy who are doing well in life due to their sports achievements after getting trained at his academy.

Mustaq Ali started his career as a football coach at the age of 18. Today when he is 63, there is a beeline of the budding players for admission into his academy and the football ground of the club is buzzing with activity from 4.30 to 7.30 am every morning.

Mustaq Ali says that about 70 per cent of the players who are trained at his academy are not in a position to pay his coaching fees and he waives it off. He says, lack of money should not be allowed to come in the way of one’s passion for the game.

He senses their desperation and agrees to train them free of cost.

Many of his players have won medals at the national and the State level competitions level in the state as well as in the national level. His academy on an average trains 50-60 footballers.

Mustaq Ali started coaching budding footballers at the age of 18 and today when he has turned 63, he runs the Shera Club in Raipur, footballers from the State are keen to train under him at his 4.30 am to 7.30 am sessions.

Mustaq Ali has formed his own team and it would be soon seen competing with others teams at the national level.