The story of Downtown Heroes lies in the never-ending hustle of city life. Established with the hope of nursing the talent of Kashmir and forming a barrier between youth and drugs, Downtown Heroes provides a symbol of hope and resilience to the youth of the valley.
Founded by three youngsters who saw their dreams shattered due to the lack of a fair chance, Downtown Heroes FC attracted budding footballers from all parts of Kashmir.
Why was Downtown Heroes FC formed?
Downtown FC was founded in 2020 with the aim to tackle drug addiction in Kashmir. The club heavily invested at the grassroots level to build a solid foundation. They inherited Islamia College Ground as their home ground and developed three different levels – U12, U16, and the senior team. One of the owners Mushtaq Bashir said that one of the goals of the club is to change the perception of the people about the downtown area.
“The idea behind forming this club was to counter the rising menace of drug addiction among the Kashmir youth,” explained Mushtaq. “We wanted to provide a platform that would rescue the Kashmiri youth from falling into the trap of drug addiction.”
“Another reason was to change the preconceived perception about the Srinagar Downtown area. Whenever anyone talks about Downtown, there’s this notion that it’s all about drugs and other negative activities, but that’s untrue. We have immense talent here, and that’s what we want to showcase.” he added.
Service to the community
Downtown Heroes FC was established with the main objective of discovering and developing young sports talents, providing them with opportunities to build careers in sports. Furthermore, the club seeks to involve young people in physical and moral education as a means to decrease crime rates, and combat drug abuse.
The club also has its own rehabilitation center where substance abusers from all parts of the valley are helped and counseled in the hope of getting their lives back on track.
Downtown Heroes also has its own scouting team which identifies talented at-risk youth and encourages them to take up football as their career.
Rising through the ranks
Downtown Heros FC appointed Aijaz Ahmad Bhat as their first coach and relied on self-funding due to the lack of sponsors. They participated in their first league tournament in 2021 and secured third position.
Downtown Heroes FC then flew to Assam to play a qualifying match for the I-League second division. Traveling with a young squad, no one gave Downtown Heroes a chance of winning but Bhat’s side against all odds emerged winners in the northeast to book a place in the I-League second division.
In the 2022 I-League second division, Downtown Heroes finished second in their group of six teams. This earned them a berth in the Durand Cup, one of the oldest football tournaments in Asia. In the first group game, they beat Indian Air Force 2-0.
The club is known to emphasize local players and about 95% of the players are locals. Umaid Hussain Mugloo, Tabish, Aditi, Iqlak Fayaz are some of the young stars playing for Downtown Heros FC
Currently, Downtown Heroes FC plays its football in the JKFA Professional League.
Read More: 3 Young Kashmiri Footballers to Watch Out For
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
