History
From the very first days in 1999, when we were just as elementary as another game of rugby at a local Mumbai ground, to the most structured Sport for Development (S4D) player in the country, Magic Bus has come a long way. Nevertheless, there have been as many potholes and traffic jams as there have been long uninterrupted stretches of comfortable cruising.
Here’s a brief outline of how we’ve come through over the years:
 Magic Bus in the initial years
- 1999: Matthew Spacie came to India as COO, Cox and Kings. While playing rugby at a local ground, he came into direct contact with some children from the streets and started teaching them how to play. Over time, he saw that playing the game taught the children discipline, showed them the importance of respecting others and gave them a sense of purpose. Magic Bus roared into life!
- 2000: Magic Bus got introduced to Deval Sanghavi and Impact partners, who provided management support and administration funding. The Founding Management team comprising Matthew Spacie, Alka Shesha and Rinku Varde came into being, making the staff count to 3. Outreach shot up to 400.
- 2001: Magic Bus registered as a Section 25 Not-for-Profit Company. Matthew Spacie and Deval Sanghvi became the board members. This was the birth of the philosophy of an age-and-need-based programme. With (just) one more staff and immense support of volunteers, 450 children benefitted from the programme.
- 2002: Magic Bus programme got structured and participants became streamlined into groups: Explorers (ages 7-9), Challengers (10-14) and Voyagers (14-16). Children started attend weekly sports sessions. The building of a Magic Bus Centre was also approved with a grant of INR 10,000,000 ($208,600) from Kadoorie Charitable Foundation. Chirag Sakhare and Sanjay Patil joined as Outdoors and Sports specialists to lead the programmes. Matthew Spacie joined full time, and was awarded an Ashoka Fellowship. The first London fundraising event was held at Christie's Auction House, organised by then-volunteer Alison Adnitt. Magic Bus reached out to 600 children with 8 staff members. Many charitable organisations partnered with Magic Bus.
- 2003: Action Research was introduced into the Magic Bus programme to help in curriculum-development, as well as show the evidence of change. The first real bus came to Magic Bus in 2003. Also, the Centre project gained momentum with the purchase of land. The programme team worked with the first group of children from remand homes. Alison Adnitt and Deepak Kasthwal joined as Managers for Operations and Finance. Staff count touched 10, and outreach shot over 100 children.
- 2004: Emmie Gribble, Rob Deane and Sonali Vadera joined the team as Founding Board Members in England, establishing Magic Bus UK as a legal charitable entity. Soon, Ivan Levy joined as the Chairman, and Ranjan Kapur joined the board in India. Magic Bus won the World Bank Development Marketplace Award. The construction of the Centre started. Magic Bus also received a permanent FCRA approval permanent approval to bring foreign exchange. 30 staff members worked together and reached out to 2,000 children.
- 2005: Magic Bus had two more members as Dr Usha Parekh and Samantha Nayar on the India board. Ole Bettum joined the board at UK. A major organization review detailing use of sport for development, and discussion around the vision, mission and purpose of Magic Bus’ existence happened. Magic Bus presented at the United Nations in New York. The reach grew up to 2,500 with the help of 50 staff members.
- 2006: Magic Bus forged formal partnerships on Monitoring and Evaluation with Sterling University (Prof Fred Coulter) and UK Sport. Another presentation on S4D was made to the United Nations in Switzerland. The Centre hosted its first residential camp for children. Meanwhile, the team kept getting stronger with 80 staff on board helping take the bus to 3,500 children. This was a year of significant growth, important partnerships and international exposure.
- 2007: Mark Spears, Nisha Paul and Bernard Horn joined as board members of Magic Bus UK. Community offices were opened in Dharavi and Bombay Port Trust. The programme team conducted its first international Training of Trainers (ToT) programme in Vietnam. Magic Bus forayed into new areas with Natasha Kothari organising a Magic Bus event in Dubai. Magic Bus also concreted partnerships with Premiership Football, FIFA and KNVB. Magic Bus Football Team and Connect project were launched. The first corporate and private school programmes were conducted at the Centre, in line with the Sustainability plans. Staff count reached 120 and the outreach went up to 4,500 children.
- 2008: Rajeev Dubey joined the India board. The organisation signed a partnership with UNICEF. Through the partnership – a part of International Inspiration, an international sport development and legacy programme led by UK Government – Magic Bus trained community sports coaches (CSCs) to deliver the programme in villages in Andhra Pradesh, rural Maharashtra and communities in Delhi. Magic Bus enjoyed an opportunity to speak in the Parliament of India.
- 2009: The National Programme expanded. Magic Bus delivered ToT programmes across different parts of the country. Magic Bus also worked as technical advisor to UNICEF on a programme that brings together the UK Government (UK Sport) and the Ministry for Youth Affairs and Sport (MYAS), Government of India (GoI) to take S4D to communities across India. Magic Bus was also invited to participate in the Up to Us Conference by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation; it aimed to unite stakeholders in the field of Sports-Based Youth Development (SBYD).
- 2010: Magic Bus organized Maidan Summit, the first international S4D Meet in India. It brought together national and international S4D players on a common platform to share ideas and experiences. This year, Magic Bus children participated in the World Cup 2010 Football for Hope Festival. MYAS, GoI selects Magic Bus as the Knowledge and Implementing Partners to develop model PYKKA Centres in two districts of Maharashtra (Sangli) and Andhra Pradesh (Medak). Magic Bus outreach shot up to 150,000 children by end of 2010.
 Magic Bus in the initial years
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