New Delhi:
The English Premier League will invest Rs 4.3 crore in the next three years for the overall development of 80,000 slum children in India, said British Sports Minister Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday.
The money will be spent through children charity Magic Bus, which uses the medium of sports to reach out to thousands of underprivileged children in society.
The organisation, in the next three years, will expand its services in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh.
Magic Bus trains local youths as mentors to run 'Sport for Development' sessions, which bring personal and social development amongst children and society.
"Sport is a fantastic way to reach out to young people, inspiring them to learn new skills and giving them the belief and chance to escape lives of hardship and poverty. However, this can only be achieved if the tools are there on the ground to support them and give them the means to achieve their ambitions," said Hunt.
Magic Bus has been operating in Mumbai for the last 11 years and its Delhi operations were launched last November.
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said, "Magic Bus is a fantastic organization that the Premier League has been proud to support in the past three years. It is heartening to know that our funding has helped train 350 Magic Bus mentors who have used football to improve lives of more than 3,500 children in Mumbai."