Former Mumbai Football Association committee member and founding father of the Bipin Football Academy, Surendra Karkera handed away at his Borivli residence on Tuesday following a coronary heart assault. Karkera, 71, is survived by his spouse Beena and son Vishal.
Numerous younger and underprivileged footballers within the metropolis emerged by means of Karkera’s Bipin Football Academy that carried out free camps for kids throughout the final 34 years.
Initiated in 1988 in reminiscence of his son Bipin, a soccer lover, who handed away younger on account of well being issues, the BMF camps have been free and unfold throughout totally different areas in Mumbai—proper from Colaba to Dahisar. The remaining of the newest version was held on the Gopinath Munde Ground in Dahisar, with former India midfielder Steven Dias because the chief visitor. “Whatever I’ve achieved within the recreation is due to the Bipin Memorial event. I started enjoying soccer by means of this competitors,” Dias, 39, had stated on the operate.
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Karkera usually stumble on tough occasions financially in his relentless pursuit to advertise the game he so dearly beloved. His small however detailed diary would have had the variety of each soccer official and sports activities journalist within the metropolis. And he would by no means hesitate to name anybody if it meant getting even a small sponsor or some media protection for his annual inter-camp event. Karkera was just lately honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Mumbai Football Association for his service to the sport by means of his academy for the final 4 a long time.
