14 November 2024, Mohali: One of the biggest stars of Punjabi music Babbu Maan, visited Roundglass Foundation’s Sport Centre in Kheri Bir Singh village on Sunday, November 10,2024 to encourage children to engage in sports for their overall development. More than 500 children from Roundglass Foundation’s Sports Centres in Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib districts thronged the village to get a glimpse of their star and a chance to speak with him.
Known for his distinctive music and lyrics and the winner of the World Music Awards, Maan underscored the importance of sports in life and encouraged children to play outdoors more and spend less time on screens. “We spend a large part of our day glued to our phones. This fuels frustration and makes us vulnerable to bad habits. I believe that coming out to a field to play is so much better than spending time on social media. Roundglass Foundation is doing a fantastic job of inspiring children to come out and play by giving them access to qualified coaches and sports equipment, all free of cost. They have my wholehearted support. I request more people to support Roundglass Foundation on this journey. And my advice to children is that you spend more time playing outdoors as sports will help you grow physically and mentally,” said Maan.
Babbu Mann also distributed footballs among girls and announced the launch of Roundglass Foundation Football Cup 2024, which will start from November 14.
The RGFFC is a unique inter-village football tournament for children, which will see participation from almost 4,000 children, between the ages of 5 and 16 years, from 300 villages of Punjab. A total of 290 village teams, including 50 girls’ teams, will compete for the trophy in the U12 and U16 age categories. The final will be played on November 23,2024 in Mohali.
This tournament is part of Roundglass Foundation’s larger mission to rekindle Punjab’s sporting culture and a reminder of the state’s towering sports legacy. In the past four years, Roundglass Foundation has set up 400 Sports Centres in more than 350 villages in Punjab, which are engaging 11,000+ children in the age group of 5 to 16 years, including girls, to learn and play team sports like football.
These Sports Centres are safe spaces to nurture children’s potential for leadership, teamwork, and discipline, and enable them to make positive life choices. Playing organized sport holds greater value for girls as it helps them break gender stereotypes and increases their self-confidence and self-esteem. This year’s inclusion of girls’ teams reflects the Foundation’s commitment to gender inclusivity and equal opportunity in sports.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Chowla, Leader of Roundglass Foundation, expressed his gratitude to Babbu Maan for taking time out to visit the Sports Centre. “Role models like Babbu Maan inspire children to think big and work hard in life to make their dreams come true. Our Sports Centres are giving children in the villages an opportunity to play and using sports to inculcate leadership, teamwork, discipline and resilience in children. The Roundglass Foundation Football Cup is a step in this direction. We hope that this tournament will give children a platform to express their passion and energy, embrace their roots and celebrate their village community. I invite everyone to join us for the tournament and support our mission to develop Punjab’s youth by leveraging sports and technology.”
