Namdhari SA: Newcomers of Indian football who aim to make it big

The outfit renowned for hockey has now shifted its focus to the 'world's most popular sport' and has also hired Serbian coach Marko Djerkovic.

The Namdhari Sports Academy (Namdhari SA) based in the Bhaini Sahib village near Ludhiana is renowned for being the breeding ground for hockey players and has produced countless talents for its hockey club Namdhari XI.

Sher Singh is a former hockey player who looks after the sporting affairs of the academy. He explained that the popularity of football worldwide was a major reason behind shifting their focus from hockey to football.

He stated, “There is a downfall in hockey. The stadiums are empty now, even the number of tournaments have reduced. The popularity of the sport in India has gone down a lot, so we decided to put our focus additionally on football, which is the most popular sport in the world."

"We play a lot of other sports as well, like badminton and tennis, but that’s at a smaller level. We are more serious about football," he told The Times of India.

Keeping with this newfound ambition, they began their search for foreign coaches who could help lead their project. Accordingly, they hired a foreign coach in 2019 before bringing in Serbian Marko Djerkovic earlier this year. “Last year we had a coach by the name of Margo from Bulgaria. He was with us on a six-month contract. In March this year, Marko joined on a one-year contract.”

Currently, the academy has 40 football trainees between the ages of10 to 17, who live in the hostel. Additionally, there are 60-70 other kids that attend training on a regular basis from the village or it’s neighbouring areas. All the kids that are part of the academy study at the Satguru Partap Singh Academy.

Further elaborating on the structure, Sher Singh said, “For the first year, the parents have to pay the school fee. Those who can’t afford can study for free; but those who can, they have to pay for the first year. If the kid shows satisfying results in training, then the fee is waived off from the subsequent year. Earlier it was free, but that led to laxity on part of parents.”

After a lockdown was imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost half of the kids and coach Djerkovic stayed at the hostel, with the rest from nearby areas leaving for their respective abodes. Everyone that resided at the hostel had to follow stringent guidelines to prevent contracting the virus and fortunately, everyone has been safe throughout these testing times.

“With the grace of God, none of the kids faced any health issues. Outsiders were not allowed to enter the village, not even the parents were allowed to come to the hostel. None of the villagers could enter the hostel premises. We were very strict on that part, until we resumed training in June,” Sher Singh revealed.

Marko Djerkovic landed in India before things went completely south. The 33-year-old coach holds a UEFA ‘B’ coaching license from the Football Association of Serbia and couldn’t make it as a professional footballer due to a knee injury he suffered in the nascent stages of his playing career.

“When I was young I played in Serbia for Metalac, a club near my hometown. But, unfortunately because of a knee injury during a match, I had to put a stop to my playing career when I was 17-18.”

However, it isn’t the first time he has coached in India, having worked as a coach and assistant technical director for the youth teams at Boca Juniors Football School in Bengaluru back in 2017. “This is my second year in India…they (Namdhari SA) were looking for someone who has worked in India before, so I had some experience.”

Having worked in a bustling city like Bengaluru, moving to a much quieter and secluded environment would be perceived as a drastic change. Turns out, the Serbian has taken quite a liking to his new serene surroundings.

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“Before I reached here, I surfed the internet about Namdhari SA and I found only good things. Now, being here for over four months, I can see clearly all of it is true. Not a single problem. To be honest, compared with Bengaluru, this village is much, much better, because I don’t like a lot of people in one place. It’s very quiet, around 2000 people only,” Marko said.

Djerkovic recognizes that he has a huge task ahead of him, considering the academy's hockey background and the sudden change to a new sport. Nevertheless, he has his plans in mind and is looking forward to working relentlessly to attain promising results in this brand new endeavour.

“They want something new and their focus is on football.  To be honest, when I reached here, I saw nothing special, but they (the kids) have improved their skills over the last two months. We need to work hard if we want to have some good results in future. My focus is on kids from 14-16-years-old. We have brought a lot of changes in the training sessions and preparations. So, all this is new for the kids also."

“I hope by the end of this year, they will be completely ready for competition," concluded the newly-appointed Namdhari SA coach.