New Delhi: YKK Holding Asia Pte. Ltd. (YHA) together with YKK India Private Limited recently brought forth their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, YKK ASAO Kids Football Clinic (YKK AKFC) back to India for the fourth time. The event in collaboration with the Real Madrid Foundation (RMF) was a three-day clinic held between 2nd to 5th November, in New Delhi at the Kicksal Arena football facility. Unlike the previous instalments of the event, the official press conference was held at the same venue as the clinic in a more intimate pitch-side format. Andres Muntaner Borrajo, Area Manager (Camps & Clinics) for Real Madrid Foundation was in attendance and represented the organisation as a VIP panellist during the conference on day one. Representing YKK and this initiative were Kosuke Miimi, President of YKK Holding Asia Pte. Ltd. (YHA), Reisuke Aratani, Managing Director of YKK India Pvt. Ltd., and Naresh Kaushik, Vice Factory Manager of YKK India Pvt. Ltd.
As a part of the clinic, just under 300 children from orphanages and underprivileged homes, and more than 30 local Indian coaches from the country got to hone their skills at this camp and rub shoulders with the professional coaches of the Real Madrid Foundation, Carlos Gustavo Albert Garcia, Maria Bores Vasques and Víctor Lópes Pacheco. Supporting this event closely was 
Football Delhi (Delhi Soccer Association) and their team of skilled Indian coaches who after undergoing a theory and professional coaching session, had a hands-on experience to assist the Real Madrid Foundation coaches. Together, they shared the club’s training methodology and techniques, to conduct the four kids’ clinic sessions over the next two days. Each participant 
in the clinic received a full set of YKK/Real Madrid Foundation kits (inclusive of jersey, shorts and socks), football boots, a certificate and a medal of participation along with souvenirs from the RMF.
Having collaborated with the YKK AKFC for over a decade, the Real Madrid Foundation’s coaching team 
has brought their world-class techniques to millions of children around the world who share a passion for football. Believing strongly in the thought that football is a global language, the coaching team has never perceived regional dialects and cultural differences as a barrier and in fact, continues to spread smiles on the children’s faces via their clinics.
Amplifying the YKK ASAO REGION CSR programme, YKK will donate all the footballs and training equipment to the participating non-profit organisations and schools following the event, thus encouraging passionate children to chase their dreams and play on for years to come.
YKK ASAO Region has always strived to be a contributing member of society and YHA has cemented this CSR program as an annual event. Sharing his thoughts on this, Kosuke Miimi, President of YHA, commented, “This is an integral programme that not only values the children, but the community at large. This event gives opportunities to those who normally have a lesser chance at sports and brings the community together to celebrate the love of football.”
The YKK AKFC CSR programme started in 2007. This meaningful event has been held across countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and others. YKK focuses on providing an enjoyable and memorable experience for underprivileged children through the game of football. The success of the event throughout the years has seen thousands of underprivileged children benefit from this once-in-a-lifetime experience to get up close with the renowned Spanish football coaches of the Real Madrid Foundation. To date, the event has provided this special experience to well over 7000 underprivileged children and counting.
