Khushi Shah, an 18 year old national-level football player has started ‘Surat City United’ along with her cousin Prem Shah to train aspiring footballers.
Her academy has until now trained more than 250 players and charges training fees from players and for the tournaments they organise twice a year. Until now, the revenues have crossed Rs 5 lakh.
Khushi had already decided that she wanted to become an entrepreneur. She joined the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) and travelled to Mumbai on Saturdays for 20 weeks to attend classes at The Cathedral and John Connon School.
She started the academic after noticing the lack of facilities for football training in her hometown Surat. Most of the time, she was the only girl on the field, and there were no dedicated football academies in Surat for her to train. She was determined to change this, and offer budding talent the opportunity to train and move forward.
“My grandfather was a successful entrepreneur, and, despite that, my father decided to start on his own, and is now well established at what he does. What inspired me to start Surat City United was a perfect mix of my passion for football and an entrepreneurial itch to capitalise on the market demand and to give to Surat what I didn’t get,” says Khushi.
“Having a passion for football has numerous benefits, starting with fitness and health, character building, being part of a team, coordination, discipline, and respect,”she added.