Seventeen-year-old UAE student Nirmay Teckchandani has launched Kick Connect, a mobile application designed to connect aspiring young football players directly with coaches and scouts around the world. The platform, developed with support from the Forward Thinking Mentoring Programme, offers a new channel for talent discovery by allowing athletes to showcase their skills without the financial burden of agents or international travel.
Quick Facts
- Founder is a 17-year-old UAE-based student.
- App connects young players with global scouts.
- Aims to eliminate expensive agent and travel costs.
Bridging the Visibility Gap in Youth Football
Inspired by his own experiences as a young athlete, Teckchandani identified a common challenge where talented players often fail to gain visibility outside their local leagues. Kick Connect addresses this by functioning as a dedicated social media platform for football.
Players can upload highlight reels of their performance, participate in skill-specific challenges, and build a profile accessible to a global network of talent seekers. For coaches and scouts, the app provides a streamlined discovery process with quick-view reels, challenge leaderboards, and targeted search tools to identify promising athletes more efficiently.
From Concept to Launch
Teckchandani was involved in every stage of the app’s development over a five-to-six-month period, from interface design and functionality testing to gathering feedback from local players. Balancing the project with school responsibilities, especially during exams, was a significant hurdle.
“As a young athlete myself, I have experienced first-hand how difficult it can be for talented players to get noticed without the right connections,” said Nirmay Teckchandani, Founder of Kick Connect. “Kick Connect was built to create direct access between players and coaches, making visibility more accessible and affordable.”
His advice for other young entrepreneurs is to “start with real challenges, seek mentorship, and take action even before everything feels perfect.”
The Role of Structured Mentorship
Teckchandani’s entrepreneurial journey was supported by his participation in the Forward Thinking Mentoring Programme, an initiative under Arcadia Education. The program pairs students with experienced educators and business leaders to provide guidance on academic, personal, and entrepreneurial goals.
“The programme is designed to help students think beyond the classroom and apply their learning to real-world challenges,” commented Navin Valrani, CEO of Arcadia Education. “Nirmay identified a practical gap in youth sports visibility and developed a solution with tangible potential.”
Kick Connect is now live, with plans to add more features as its user base grows.
About Kick Connect
Kick Connect is a football-focused mobile application that serves as a digital platform for young athletes to showcase their skills to a global network of coaches and scouts. By allowing users to upload performance clips and participate in challenges, the app aims to make talent discovery more accessible and affordable, removing traditional barriers like agent fees and travel expenses.
Source: Zawya
