No player gets anywhere alone, and a nine-year-old least of all. Behind every session and every tournament is a whole cast of people — family, friends and theirs, coaches, the crew who keep it running, even the referees. This page is for all of them, roughly in the order they carry it with him.
His first teammate and his fiercest opponent — at home, around the society and everywhere outside the field. Born in 2012 and set on cricket rather than football, his own story lives at vivaannegi.com. Half the fun of all of it is his.
The everyday everything — the 5 a.m. starts, the drives across the city, the touchlines in the heat, and the belief on the hard days.
“Daddu Boss” and “Dadi Boss” to the kids. Through most of last season they were the ones who took him to training and came to almost every tournament — DPDL 2025 and the KSFA Youth Premier League among them. One wish is still waiting: for all the games they’ve watched, they’re yet to see him lift a title.
The extended team — lifts to training, cheers from the stands, and love with no conditions.
Honestly, the biggest support of all — his own teammates, and the boys he’s met across the touchline and come away friends with. Football hands you a dressing room, and a whole set of mates you’d never have met otherwise.
At DPDL, when his team took on Consient Sports, the BCFC boys sat outside and roared them on — for the other side, at the top of their voices. His team did exactly the same for BCFC against Alchemy. They met again in a recent practice match, and there he was afterwards, chatting away with the same boys. That’s what sport does to you.
Honestly, most of the academy is in his corner — the older U-11 and U-13 boys too.
Why keep them here at all? We don’t know where football takes him. But whenever he looks back, we want him to remember these boys — and who knows, some may turn into friends for life. Years from now, when they cross paths, I hope he remembers every one of them. Friends are rare; not everyone is lucky enough to have many.
These are the people who really help him — and us. The lifts when we can’t make it, the food and the juices on the long days, the quiet company on his lows, and the loudest voices on his highs. Without them, this journey would be like nothing.
One wish for him: to carry all of them with him wherever he goes — and to help others the way they helped him, this early.
The guidance and the graft — Anjith Sir with him now, Anwar Sir and Anthony Sir before him, back to Khader Sir who started it all — and the whole team who shape the player, session after session. Meet the coaches
The people who keep it all running off the training pitch — the ones who make every session actually happen, and who know him by name long before he’s anyone.
Strange to put on a thank-you list, maybe — but the referees teach him some of the most valuable lessons on the field. The fair calls and the harsh ones, the easy days and the tough ones. All of it is part of learning the game, and himself.