In teaching village boys and girls to play football, a 35-year-old tribal man has found his goal.

Chand Mardi from a village in Musabani block in East Singhbhum, 40km from Jamshedpur, is a grassroots coach at an academy run by the Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS) and Jamshedpur FC at Baraghat, also in the same block.

Mardi confessed that coaching changed his life. “I used to roam aimlessly in my village Laukesara. Now, I own a bike, earn a salary of Rs 6,000 as a coach and most important get respect from students,” Mardi told The Telegraph over phone. “Football ne mera jeevan badal diya (Football changed my life).”

He recalled that he was a defender in his school days. “I played well but lacked the exposure to do much about it till the TSRDS first set up an academy at Baraghat in 2014. I applied as a coach and got through. Of course I had to hone my training skills at the Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur. Now, I train some 100 boys in the Under-11, Under-13, Under-15 and Under-18 age groups. There’s also separate centre for 40 girls runs at Baliagora village in Musabani itself where I teach.”

The Baraghat academy was earlier run by the TSRDS. Jamshedpur FC joined it last year. Mardi said trainees at the cradle come from families of daily wage earners.

Mardi lives with his mother and four brothers, one of whom is paralysed. The family grows paddy and vegetables to sustain itself, but Mardi is the only one with a job.

He added that in villages, if one has land, one gets to eat. “You can grow rice and vegetables and eat them, but other expenses require cash. So my job is a godsend,” he said, adding that he was also planning to marry. “Without a job, I couldn’t dream of it.”

“I think the centre has generated a craze for football in Musabani. Most trainees are serious and have improved a lot. Some have played at the national level. Some girls from the Baliagora centre were part of the East Singhbhum team which won the state-level CM’s Invitational Cup held in Ranchi last year. As my life has changed, so has theirs.”

Mardi is now planning to sit for the All India Football Federation’s D Licence exam for coaches this year, he added proudly.