Under-19s visit Dharavi slums of Mumbai

The players and staff representing Wolves under-19s at the Premier League’s Next Generation Cup were given the opportunity to tour one of the largest slums in Asia on Friday morning.

Dharavi has a population of around one million people and with an area covering just under 2.4 square kilometres, is considered one of the most densely populated places in the world.

Prior to visiting the slum, Wolves, Everton, West Ham and Stellenbosch were all treated to a special screening of Gully Boy.

The Bollywood film, which was released in 2019, is a coming-of-age story about aspiring street rapper Murad Ahmed, from the Dharavi slums of Mumbai.

Our under-19s came together with @EvertonAcademy, @WestHam and @StellenboschFC to watch a special screening of Gully Boy yesterday evening 🎬

The Bollywood movie is set in the Dharavi slums of Mumbai, of which the players were given a tour of earlier today.

🍿🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/cG3yIxdfGG

— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) May 19, 2023

Speaking after the Friday afternoon training session and on the same day as the slum visit, Birtwistle said: “It’s a new experience for all of us. Going to the slums today was amazing – we’ve never seen anything like that before.

“It humbles us a lot, so it’s been a great experience so far and playing football with the team has been good as well.”

Farmer echoed the thoughts of his teammate and explained how the opportunity to see a different way of living has been humbling for him.

“Experiencing the culture here is completely different to what we experience in England,” Farmer said. “To learn about that and see it first-hand has been a really good opportunity and experience.

“The visit to the slums was really good. It’s disappointing to see how some people have to live, but it was a really good opportunity to see what they do on a day-to-day basis.

“We were able to see the living conditions they have and comparing it to ourselves, it’s quite humbling.”