Modi's 'mann ki baat' puts MP's 'Mini Brazil' on German coach's radar

Bicharpur, a village in MP that wears the epithet "Mini Brazil" for producing dozens of footballers over the years, scored a decisive goal on Sunday when PM Naren-dra Modi announced in his Mann Ki Baat broadcast that German coach Dietmar Beiersdorfer had offered to train select boys and girls from the hamlet in an acade-my in Germany. Beiersdorfer's interest in Bicharpur was stoked by PM Modi referring to its unique footballing culture during his lengthy chat with American podcaster Lex Fridman six months ago. The coaching idea gained momentum after the MP govt contacted the German, who used to play as a defender for Bundesliga clubs Hamburger SV and Werder Bremen before becoming a sporting director and manager. For Bicharpur, notorious in the 60s as a hooch den, the turnaround came under a footballer-turned-coach who inspired young people of the village to take up the game so that they would stay away from the liquor business. Bicharpur will now send four players, two of them girls, and their coach to Ger-many for a training stint at Beiersdorfer's club FC Ingol-stadt 04 from Oct 4 to 12. "I am happy to see that the popularity of football is in-creasing in India. I urge foot-ball lovers to visit Bicharpur whenever they get time and closely witness the sporting revolution happening there," Modi said of the MP village.