ENARADA, Bangalore, September 16, 2013:
Parikrma Champions League started in full swing on the September 16, 2013. The opening ceremony of the tournament took place at the Karnataka Football Stadium with entertaining performances done by the students of Parikrma Humanity Foundation. It was a blend of different forms of dances from Bharatnatayam to Salsa to Tribal dance along with children dressed as footballs themselves.
The Chief Guests of the opening ceremony were Charu Sharma, renowned Indian commentator, Syed Kirmani, Indian cricketer and Karnataka wicket-keeper, Sharath Gayakwad, Indian Paralympics Swimmer and Krishna Narayana, Karnataka State Football Association Secretary. Everyone addressed the crowd by supporting the tournament mentioning how important sports is for children and how Parikrma Humanity foundation along with Menzies is giving a platform to do so.
Mervyn Walker Executive Vice President, Operations of Menzies Aviation from Menzies Aviation said, “I have been associated with Parikrma for 5 years now, it is an honour for me to be a part of it. This is the 3rd year of Parikrma Champions League and we have officials from all the Menzies around world namely, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand etc.”
The flag was hoisted by Krishna Narayana along with the Parikrma Humanity Foundation CEO, Shukla Bose to officially start off the tournament. White and Blue balloons were flown out in the air by Charu Sharma and Syed Kirmani while Sharath Gayakwad kicked the football to start the tournament. The captains of each school were greeted by the guests wishing them best of luck for all the matches. A special appearance was seen by the Minister of Agriculture, Krishna Byre Gowda during the matches.
The Parikrma Champions League under 16 football tournament presented by Menzies Aviation in association with the Karnataka State Football Association, is back for its third edition, which promises to be bigger and better. This year 13 school teams from Bangalore and a team from Mumbai, Goa and Kerala will join the battle for the Equality Cup, a uniquely designed trophy that symbolizes the breaking down of social barriers.
Parikrma Humanity Foundation is a NGO with the aim to ensure that even the poorest children have access to the best opportunities anywhere in the world. Now in its 10th year of operations, Parikrma runs 4 Centres for Learning and a Junior College for 1566 children from 69 slum communities and 4 orphanages in Bangalore. Besides ICSE English medium education, nutrition, healthcare and family care, sport is an integral part of education at Parikrma.
