Top Mumbai football coaches sell vegetables, deliver kebabs for daily wages: Report

The coronavirus pandemic has brought massive financial implications for sports in India, with the global crisis threatening the future of clubs, academies, leagues, support staff; all the people who earn their bread and butter through the sport. The rising number of coronavirus Mumbai cases means that schools and academies are shut, resulting in the lack of requirement for coaching at least until the situation normalises. Coaches in Mumbai have now been forced to take up odd jobs in the meantime. 

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Coronavirus Mumbai cases: Mumbai coach says selling vegetables felt awkward at first

According to an Indian Express report, three Mumbai football coaches have been forced to look out for themselves after the growing number of coronavirus Mumbai cases saw them lose their coaching jobs amidst the lockdown. On any normal monsoon day, coaches Prasad Bhosale, Siddhesh Srivastav, and Samrat Rana would have been plotting and training school kids for tournaments, but now find themselves selling vegetables, making kebabs and delivering food due to the coronavirus lockdown. Speaking to The Indian Express, Prasad Bhosale revealed that he is forced to sell vegetables to look after his family. Bhosale said that he has a Masters in Physical Education, a double graduate and selling vegetables felt awkward for the first few days. The Mumbai coach added that he carries grain bags and vegetables on his shoulder, fills his carts and sells them on the streets of Kandivali. 

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Coronavirus Mumbai cases: Coach decided to sell kebabs after he was laid off 

Siddhesh Srivastav used to coach kids at two Mumbai schools in the day and worked with a private football academy in the evenings where he trained with more children. He was working with a Bangalore-based company which provides football coaches to schools. In June, Srivastav was told the company couldn’t afford to pay salaries and was subsequently terminated from his job.

While speaking to The Indian Express, Srivastav said that he had not been paid for the last few months and he had to take care of his family, with his father having retired. He decided to sell kebabs to earn his bread. Many coaches approached the Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) to convince schools not to lay off coaches, but it expressed helplessness at the situation. Hockey secretary at the MSSA, Lawrence Bing told The Indian Express that around 60-70 coaches were removed from their jobs till May, and the number went past 100 in June. Bing said that the coaches’ livelihoods are badly hit as the sports sector is completely closed and there is little chance of sporting action resuming in the coming months.

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Coronavirus India cases: Junior I League coach rendered jobless, works as a delivery boy 

Samrat Rana was the head of a football academy called CSPI, which had nine centres across Mumbai, and would also coach junior I League teams. His brother also worked as a coach, and both have been rendered jobless by the pandemic. Rana told The Indian Express that he works a delivery boy for a nearby restaurant after there were no vacancies at delivery companies likes Zomato and Swiggy. He added that he had to sell off his mother's gold and use all his savings to support his family. Rana said he has three brothers, one who plays football, and all are into sports, resulting in massive financial uncertainty for his family. 

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(Image Credit: mssa.co.in)