MARGAO
Kannur Boys defeated Kidanganad 1-0 in the league-cum-knockout Seven-a-Side Football Tournament organised by the Karuna Football Foundation’s Aspire Community Transformation School (ACTS) at the Government School Ground, Kuppadi.
The tournament marked the first anniversary of ACTS, launched in 2024 after the Meppadi tragedy, which claimed over 100 lives and deeply affected families and youth in Wayanad. ACTS uses football as a platform for rehabilitation, empowerment, and community bonding, transforming sport into a tool for hope and healing.
Led by a team from Goa, ACTS conducts monthly training programmes to support tribal and specially-abled youth, instilling values of teamwork, discipline, and resilience. Coaches from Goa’s Compassion FC, including Milton Fernandes, former Director of Sports, Goa University, have been instrumental in guiding the initiative.
Speaking on the occasion, Kennedy D’Silva, Founder of ACTS, said:
"This is more than football”it is about giving young people hope, dignity, and the strength to rebuild their lives through the values that sport teaches."
Prince Gifton, ACTS Coordinator in Wayanad, added: "We are humbled to see how football is uniting and uplifting our youth. This first anniversary is only the beginning of the transformation we hope to continue."
The anniversary tournament featured eight teams and over 100 tribal youth from across Wayanad, celebrating resilience, unity, and sportsmanship.
