Passionate about using football as a medium to bring about social change and inclusion, 17-year-old Arjun Pandey initiated Kicking Gender Boundaries, an initiative focused on the inclusion of the transgender community in sports. The organisation believes that the uniting power of sports can be used to combat the prejudices in society and also began working with para-athletes.
The motto of Kicking Gender Boundaries is to spread awareness, break the stereotypes and sensitise students, make the sport accessible, inclusive and genderless keeping in mind the needs of a cis-gendered person. In 2019, the organisation initiated India’s first all-gender inclusive match in Jaipur which received official recognition from the Rajasthan Football Association and was graced by UN activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi. The players were scouted for across the country and were trained by the organisation.
“As a passionate footballer, I want everyone to have a safe space to enjoy and experience the magic of sport. I want this event to be a stepping stone towards uniform inclusion of everyone in not only sports but in all spheres of everyday life,” shares Arjun in an interview with Sportskeeda. In 2020, Arjun was the winner of the Prime Minister’s National Child Award.
The 17-year-old needs for change also led him to co-found Scout Me, a mobile application that scouts talent at the grassroots level for the Indian National Team, over 30,000 players registered on the platform, the application has been adopted by the .that claims to be India’s first mobile-based scouting application that has been adopted by the All India Football Federation(AIFF).
Through Scout Me, Arjun’s vision is to create a more inclusive world where people are more accepting towards each other, Arjun has expanded his work to sport para-athletes. Arjun believed that Para Athletes with disabilities weren’t given the right opportunities and lacked resources. With this work, in 2020 Arjun was also the winner of the Prime Minister’s National Child Award. Today, the programs at Kicking Gender Boundaries and Scout me are recognised by the likes of Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, and Bhaichung Bhutia.
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