11 year old Chandan Nayak will get the opportunity of a lifetime: the opportunity to join and train at the Bayern Munich Academy.
6 months ago, few had heard the name Chandan Nayak. Now, people across the world have heard his name and are anticipating his arrival at the Bayern Munich Academy. He comes from the slums of Odisha, but he now joins one of the most prestigious and renowned football clubs in the world.
India is generally known for providing giant European clubs with hardcore fan bases instead of young (or really any) talent. This could change with the addition of Nayak to the Bayern Munich Academy. Nayak has an initial 2 month offer from Bayern Munich to train with the academy for 2 months on a trial basis, but pending performance, he could earn a more permanent spot in Bayern’s academy and, one day, potentially join the best of the sport.
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While this journey sounds like a miracle, a fantasy dreamed up in the head of the most hopeful optimist, Nayak earned this chance outright. He had to qualify for this opportunity, this is not simply Bayern Munich picking up a skilled boy off the streets of India.Bayern Munich hand selects 120 players to join their academy every year, and Nayak is the only Indian national to be selected in this year’s group.
However, Nayak is not alone in his journey. His coach Jayadev Mohapatra said of the boy: “It is a matter of pride that Chandan has been selected to play for Bayern Munich. He was the youngest, only 11-year old, among others who had come to the all India level competition.”
The Indian government has also proved to be a supporter of the young footballer. When Bayern selected Nayak, he realized he did not have any of the proper paperwork or documents for the trip. He did not even have a birth certificate. In order to help Nayak have this experience, the Indian government expedited his passport process, so the boy is now just waiting on his visa.
Once he has the visa, he is free to start training with the German giant and there are many who are excited to see what he does when that time comes.