The players gathered on the ground holding placards of Brazil, France, Portugal, Australia, Poland and other nations. There were fireworks and colourful performances all around as this football World Cup came to a close.
No, the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) had nothing to do with it, and Gianni Infantino still remains unaware of this World Cup as St Xavier's Institution, Panihati, recently recreated last year's Qatar magic on its own grounds with students, right from Classes III to XI. In a deviation, India was also made part of this World Cup.
"Our students — both boys and girls — are enthusiastic about football. They enjoyed watching their idols play in Qatar last November-December. Argentina winning was the icing on the cake. So after their exams in March, we decided to host our version of the world cup," said principal Lipika Ghosh.
Every team represented a country at the SXI World Cup, 2023. The girls sported eight teams. The final was played between Poland and Australia with the latter clinching it with three goals. The other teams included Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, China and Belgium.
Ariha Das, captain of Team Australia, holds the SXI World Cup trophy for girls
The boys had inter-class matches with every class sporting around 16 to 18 teams, all named after different countries. So while Brazil won in Class IX, Japan merged champs in Class VIII. Argentina won only in Class III in this world cup.
"It would not have been fair to pit a Class V student against a Class XII young adult. So we had separate knockout matches for different age groups and, thus, different winners," said football coach Anjan Paul, who along with Rupa Bhaumik trained the students.
"It used to be great fun practising on Sundays. I represented Morocco, but I am a fan of Ronaldo, so I tried to copy his style. I hope to play better next World Cup," said Adrish Ghosh Dastidar of Class X, whose team lost out in the knockout stage.
Surya Deep Saha was glad to represent Portugal, his favourite team. "Though we were the runner's up in Class IX, I was happy to represent the team I adore so much," said the now Class X student.
The girls would practise every Saturday. For Ariha Das of Class XII, captain of Team Australia (girls), this was an experience of a lifetime.
"I love playing football and joining SXI in Class XI changed nothing. In fact I enjoyed discussing the World Cup matches with my new friends. Having our own version of the Qatar Cup, complete with rigorous training on Saturdays and lots of strategising with my teammates made the beautiful game so much more fun," said Ariha, who is a centre-forward.
"For a long time, I thought football was not meant for girls. Now I got to play in a World Cup. It was mindblowing," said teammate Mousom Biswas.
The finals were held on March 27. It was followed by prize distribution, fireworks and a colourful closing ceremony. "We gave the audience and the students the feel of a real World Cup," said the principal.