Kolkata sex worker’s son gets set to train with Manchester United
Mumbai: Thing are looking up for 16-year-old Rajib Roy, who lives in the red light district of Kolkata. The young boy who is the son of a sex-worker grew up in the slums of Kolkata, and has been chosen to train with Manchester United, Daily Mail reported.
Roy is one of 11 teens arriving in the UK this weekend to spend two weeks training with Manchester United.
The youngster impressed talent scouts from the famous English club at a national tournament for India’s best young football players. Unlike the other selected teens that come from well-off families and speak fluent English, Roy has grown up playing the sport barefoot in the streets of one of the largest red light areas in Kolkata.
Sonagachi is home to 12,00 sex workers, where Roy shares a single room with his mother Rekha and younger brother. In their tiny room, hangs a poster of Chelsea football club’s Oscar, Rajib’s idol as he can relate to the sportsman who also comes from a poor family in Brazil.
Roy’s life changed two years ago, when his mother sent him to ‘Rahul Vidya Niketan’ the local school for children of sex workers. After a football initiative was set up at the school, Rajib took a keen interest in the sport.
Earlier this year, Rajib’s West Bengal team won the National Slum Soccer Tournament at Nagpur. The selected teens will fly to Britain and Old Trafford on Sunday.
The boys will also get a free tour of the famous stadium, which normally costs £20- the monthly income of Rajib’s family.
“People keep asking me how it feels to be my mother’s son and then achieve something like this. I don’t know how to answer that question. But when my coach told me I had been selected by Manchester United it was like a father’s recognition,” Rajib was quoted saying.
“My mother is a very shy person. She would lock me in my room after lunch so that I could take a nap, but I would quietly sneak out to play with my friends. Last month I was selected along with 30 others to participate in a camp in Goa through a nationwide school championship competition. “
The teen is exited to be a part of the training and can’t wait to see what’s in store for him.
