Words Ted Delahoy

When I stepped off the plane in New Delhi I was instantly met with two things, the heat and the pollution.

I have never been in a city quite like Delhi, the noise and motion are exciting and intense.

*The chaos of Delhi outside the Delite Cinema*

After doing some research I realised that Delhi doesn't have a team in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Every local I asked said they don’t know much about football but they love cricket.

India vs Pakistan was on in the T20 World Cup with the clash described as “a war, not a match” by one of my tuk-tuk drivers. The fireworks went on all night after India won in the final over.

*Two boys have a kick-about in Lodhi Gardens*

The only football I could sniff out in Delhi was two kids having a kick about in a park and to my surprise, a huge mural to Lionel Messi along one of the back streets.

*A group pose for a photo in front of a Lionel Messi mural*

This gave me some hope to find more at my next stop, Jaipur.

Jaipur is known as the pink city (even though most of the buildings looked orange to me): it felt so calm after the bustle of Delhi.

Looking up local football teams, I walked around to one called Union Football Club Jaipur, completely unaware that this club would be everything I was looking for.

Walking onto the pitch I met the coach and club coordinator, Abhinav Swami.

Abhinav was great. His passion for the club was infectious, he immediately showed me around the club house and began to tell me all about the club’s unbelievable history.

Founded in 1889, Union Club is the oldest surviving football club in India and the only team in Jaipur to have its own pitch.

After a fruitless search for football in Delhi I couldn’t have been happier to find a club three years older than Liverpool in the centre of Jaipur.

The history didn’t stop there: Abhinav then told me the club was built in the time of British rule as part of a sports hub in the area. There were 11 tennis courts, 2 volleyball courts, 1 football pitch, 1 cricket ground and an open gym. It must have been an impressive sight.

This hub was built thanks to a donation from the then Maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Madho Singh II. To this day the links to the royal family exist, with descendant Princess Diya Kumari taking on the role of Union Club’s chief patron.

The club currently has four teams, Men’s and Women’s senior and junior sides.

The evening I spent there was with the Men’s juniors with a variety of ages up to 20 years. Abhinav started some of the kids doing one touch passing and some more on dribbling in and out of cones.

*Players take turns running in and out of cones*

The main thing that stood out to me watching the team train was the culture of respect for the coach. Each member of the team would touch Abhinav’s feet when they arrived and before they left as a ritual of respect.

Also, during a kick-about later on, one of the older kids went shoulder to shoulder with Abhinav and came off second best going flying. He bounced straight back up and got on with the game. After watching players roll around and shout abuse at the referee on tv, the attitude of all these players was a breath of fresh air.

With the sun setting and the temperature dropping, it was a perfect way to spend an evening. Abhinav invited me back to training the next day and wondered if I could play a game with the kids as he thought it would motivate them to play with someone from England (he’s obviously never seen me play).

It was the least I could do after all the hospitality he showed me, so the next day the teams were picked and we faced off in a training game.

Bearing in mind I’m 24 you might be thinking it’s a bit unfair for me to be playing against mainly kids, but in my defence a few of them were 20 and every single one was much fitter than me.

Five minutes into the game I was knackered. I know, I thought, I’ll swap with our goalkeeper to catch my breath.

As soon as I got in goal my team scored at the other end (not related in my opinion) and at the kick-off coach Abhinav shouted “Ted come out of goal, I want you to score!” My masterplan hadn’t exactly worked as I planned so I panted and wheezed slowly around the pitch not getting anywhere close to scoring until it was half time.

Refuelled by some much needed rest and water at the break I was set up by a teammate for a simple left footed finish into the bottom corner.

“I’ve scored now, can I go back in goal?” I thought, but I soon forgot about being unfit and realised how lucky I was to be here on a perfect evening and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

This experience was definitely the highlight of my trip so far.

After the final whistle all the lads wanted photos and we exchanged Instagram’s: it was the closest I'll ever get to being famous.

The club has some very talented players, all of which have a great attitude and desire to improve. I really hope they have a pathway to the top and we see some more Indian players in world football soon.

Don't park the bus; India