Slums to Sports Stars: The charity using football to give young Indian girls hope for their future

Charity the OSCAR foundation gave these young girls from India an opportunity to have their voices heard. Credit: ITV West Country

A girls football team from India, made by charity the OSCAR Foundation, has visited Cheltenham Ladies' College as part of a mission to provide them with hope and ambition.

The not-for-profit charity campaigns for social change, awareness and responsibility. They use football to instil the value of education in underprivileged young people who lead difficult lives in India.

For many of the girls in the team, getting married at the age of 11 or 12 is commonplace in Mumbai.

Many young girls in India are expected to get married as young as age 11. Credit: ITV West Country

They recently paid a visit to one of the most prestigious public schools in the country, Cheltenham Ladies' College, to play football with the school team.

The organisation's founder, Ashok Radhod, says that bringing the girls over from India for a football tour gives them hope and ambition, while encouraging them to take part in the OSCAR education programme.

As well as playing sports at the college, the team took part in lessons with the pupils to develop their language skills.

The OSCAR team will also be visiting more schools across the country, playing football and developing language skills. Credit: ITV West Country

Lucinda Sowerbutts, also from OSCAR, says that the girls "aren't listened to India, they don't have a voice."

She says: "Our mission is to show them that they can be confident, that they should continue in education and not get married illegally young, and so this is an opportunity for the girls to be heard, and I have already noticed the volume rising."