Vedanta’s grassroots sports programmes empower 3 lakh lives, focus on football and archery

On National Sports Day, Vedanta Limited announced its commitment to empowering nearly three lakh lives through transformative sports initiatives in FY25. The company’s support for academies in Goa, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Jharkhand is helping to shape future stars, while also promoting social inclusion and women’s participation in sports.

On National Sports Day, Vedanta Limited (NSE: VEDL), India’s leading critical minerals, energy transition metals, energy, and technology conglomerate, reaffirmed its commitment to this year’s theme “Levelling the Playing Field: Sport for Social Inclusion,” by empowering nearly three lakh lives through transformative sports initiatives in FY25.

The initiatives span football, archery, hockey, marathons, squash, karate, padel and para-sports, making it one of India’s largest corporate-led grassroots sports movements.

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Vedanta’s sports vision is to champion India’s sporting transformation by empowering communities and enabling global podium success. Through strategic investments in infrastructure, coaching, and community engagement, Vedanta is building a robust sporting ecosystem that nurtures grassroots talent. The company empowers these athletes through holistic development, fostering discipline, education, and opening pathways to progress to both national and international platforms.

Football has become a launchpad for young footballers in states like Goa and Rajasthan with Sesa Football Academy (SFA) and Zinc Football Academy (ZFA). Since its inception in 1999, SFA has nurtured over 8,000 students and produced more than 230 professional footballers, including national team stars like Adil Khan and Denzil Franco. Since 2017, SFA has also been continuously supporting the Vedanta Women’s League (VWL) in Goa, providing the largest platform for more than 1,400 women footballers. Over the years, 12 SFA players have represented India internationally, with the latest being Pearl Fernandes, who progressed through the ranks of the Vedanta Women’s League before earning her place in the Indian squad for the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-17 Championship in Bhutan.

Mohammed Kaif and Prem Hansdak from Zinc Football Academy have represented India in SAFF U-17 and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifiers. A highlight of this academy is its recent launch of the Zinc Football Girls Academy at Zawar, Udaipur, in partnership with All India Football Federation (AIFF). As one of India’s first residential football academies for girls, the facility is equipped with advanced F-Cube training technology and has inducted 20 under-15 players from five states.

Players from both these academies have been signed by Indian Super League (ISL) clubs including Hyderabad FC, Mohun Bagan SuperGiants, etc.

Beyond football, Vedanta is nurturing grassroots talent in archery, athletics, and karate, training over 300 tribal youth in Odisha’s Kalahandi with 110 children currently receiving professional coaching. Among them, Sanjay Majhi made history by winning Odisha’s first national-level individual archery medal in over two decades at the NTPC Senior Nationals 2024. “My coach Simanchal Kadraka is a national level archer himself. Additionally, Vedanta Archery Training Initiative has held my hand since the beginning, helping me with everything from sports equipment to my diet.”, said Sanjay Majhi.

In Jharkhand, Vedanta ESL Steel’s academy supports 50 young archers who have won over 50 medals, including standout performances by Aarti Kumari (triple gold, recognized by the Olympic Archery Association), Kritika Kumari, and Gayatri Majhi at national tournaments.