From minimum wage to Joga Bonito stage

Having once buried their dreams of becoming footballers, Shankar Bagti Madhu, Anik Deb Barma Shuvon and Rony Mia Habib settled for working as day labourers at tea garden, agricultural field and on the bank of river to help their respective families earn bread and butter, but dreams, more often than not, find their ways into fulfilment. A little push or a helping hand, sometimes, is all it takes to land on the highway of dreams.  

This is where comes in the Barrister Suman Football Academy (BSFA), which has revived the dreams of the three aforementioned boys as the trio are now on course to pilgrimage in Brazil – the land of jaw-dropping football talents – to become the next Ronaldinho, Kaka, Roberto Carlos and so on, players who have been great ambassadors of Joga Bonito, which stands for "The Beautiful Game" in Portuguese.

Shankar, Anik and Rony from Habiganj have been one of three out of 11 budding footballers to earn the right to receive higher training in Brazil among 40 footballers, who were initially selected from Bangabandhu Gold Cup U-17 football tournament, which took place across the country. The short-listed players were then given the opportunity to undergo a two-month training in BKSP to refine their skills ahead of the key audition.

Shankar is the younger member of a 6-member family, which once depended solely on his father daily's income of Tk 118, obtained from working at a tea garden in Habiganj. Sankar saw how his father had toiled hard for them, and the state of hardship prompted the boy to reduce the burden off his father's shoulders and he had given up playing football. Shankar did not forget to thank Barrister Suman, who paved the way for him to come this far, after landing on the Brazil camp.

"I really feel proud to be one of 11 footballers who got the chance to travel to Brazil. It is the happiest news for my parents, more than for me, because my father once toiled hard for us. He even borrowed money to make us educated," Shankar told The Daily Star over phone on Thursday.

"I even started working at a restaurant in Habiganj and the hotel manager allowed me to practise for one hour to realise my dream. One day, I went for a trial at Barrister Suman Football Academy and got selected but could not continue regular practice because I had to support my father to run the family," Shankar added.

"Later I shared my hardships with Barrister Suman, who then provided money to my father to run a shop. Afterward, I played in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup U-17 football tournament."

Like Shankar, Rony too has a similar tale of his arrival into football as Barrister Suman helped to reimburse debts of the family of Rony, who once worked as a daily labour, earning Tk 50 per day from carrying sand from the river.

"I wasn't supposed to play football if Barrister Suman bhai didn't come forward to help our family by providing Tk one lakh. With that money, we freed our land which was kept mortgaged in a bid to send my elder brother aboard," Rony told The Daily Star on Thursday on the way to attending practice at the Barrister Sumon Football Academy in Habiganj.

After passing the primary school exam, Rony got a chance to get admitted at BKSP. The boy went to Sylhet BKSP for two-month training but had to leave the camp in a week because he did not have the ability to buy football gear such as boots, jersey, socks and monthly wages etc.

"I left Sylhet BKSP after having seven-day training because of financial constraint and started working in a sand depot on the bank of a river in return for Tk 50 per day as a beginner. But I used to run away from work to play football. One day I played against the Barrister Suman Football Academy and caught the attention of Barrister Suman, who later heard my family's problem and chose to provide Tk one lakh in a bid to release our mortgage land. Thus he paved the way for me to play football for his academy," Rony said.    

After being selected for higher training in Brazil, Rony has been in Habiganj to make his passport and counting the days for the Brazil tour.

"I first got this good news from our district sports officer. I am really very happy. My family is also happy to hear about my success. It still seems unrealistic to me. During the two-month camp, I really concentrated on the coaching process and did everything the way coaches taught us because all 40 were good and had the ability to stand out," said Rony.

Anik from Tripura cluster, did not go through a severe turbulent path like Sankar and Rony on the road to becoming a footballer, but he had worked in his father's agricultural field to support family. However, the Grade-8 student continued to play football alongside study before Barrister Suman solved his commute related problem.

"I never thought I would be selected for higher training in Brazil. I am still puzzled but preparing mentally to go to Brazil. My parents are also very happy," said Anik, one of the elder members of an eight-member family.

"Once I could not go to the practice regularly but this time around I heavily concentrated on training and followed every step," said Anik.

"I am a student of Barrister Suman Football Academy. Once I got selected for the academy but could not go to the practice regularly because of the long distance between our home and academy.

"Later, I shared the problem with Barrister Suman bhai, who bought a motorbike for me. Thus I got a chance to play in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup and got selected for higher training in Brazil," said Anik.