Sport opens a door.
People change the future.
For young people in rural communities, access to sport can mean access to something much bigger.
Sport and education, side by side.A belief in potential.
Since 2000.
Anantapur Sports Academy is Rural Development Trust’s sport-for-development initiative. It works with rural children and youth in Anantapur and Sri Sathya Sai districts in Andhra Pradesh.
Coaching and competition are part of the story. So are education, confidence, inclusion and the chance to build a livelihood. The aim is to make opportunity accessible, wherever a young person begins.
A place for everyone.
Making sport more accessible to girls and boys from rural and marginalised communities.
Learning beyond lessons.
Connecting sport with value education, life skills and experiences that stay with young people.
Confidence to lead.
Helping young people develop self-belief and take leadership roles in their communities.
Being part of the female leadership programme as a young coach was very insightful.Devaki · Residential field hockey coach at ASA
Quoted in RDT’s July 2026 feature
Built over time.
Built around people.
From village-level access to a connected pathway through sport.
Rural Development Trust is established, beginning its work with rural communities.
ASA is established as RDT’s sport-for-development initiative.
Anantapur Sports Village begins as a day-boarding and residential academy.
Grassroots programmes, development centres and the sports village connect access with education and opportunity.
