Celebration time for Providence

But the club8217;s success Down Under wouldn8217;t have been possible without the support of the Mumbai-based Ashok Parimal Group. C Sadanand, who is the brain behind the club, told The Indian Express: 8220;We would not have been able to go to Australia for the tournament, where we were the first recipients of the Asian fellowship, without a sponsor.8221;

8220;Directors of the company are keen followers of football. And we want to promote soccer at the grass-root level,8221; said a source in the company. But why did they choose Providence? 8220;We were approached through a source in the All India Football Federation. And since they wanted to go for Kanga Cup, we thought it would be a good opportunity to promote the game. Besides, we also know the history of the club, their struggle. But our association was just for that project. Maybe in future again we will do something together for the game,8221; he said.

The sponsors are happy with the Vadodara boys8217; performance. 8220;Initially, the club lost a few matches as the boys took time to adjust to the cold climate there. But later in the tournament, they picked up and won Plate Cup. The players showed tremendous character as in most of the matches, they came back from behind to win,8221; the source added.