55 national final teams from 9 cities & 50 villages across India will travel to Bengaluru
Scholarships worth 25 lakh shall be awarded to around 200 ELevate winners for their higher education
Enabling Leadership, a non-profit organisation working to equip children from underserved communities with essential life and leadership skills, will host the ELevate 2026 National Finals on February 7 & 8 at the Reva University Campus in Bengaluru. Now in its fourth edition, ELevate has grown into India’s largest mixed-gender football league, the country’s biggest competition for original music compositions, and a national showcase of creativity and innovation through building-block challenges.
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Regional Finalists from one of the villages presenting their original composition during the EL Create Regional event
The ELevate 2026 National Finals will be graced by Ms. Meena Chaturvedi, Vice Chair, Gainwell Group as Chief Guest, and Sri. Vikas Kishor Suralkar, I.A.S. Commissioner for School Education, Govt. of Karnataka as the Guest of Honour, who will join educators, donors, partners, volunteers, and supporters in celebrating the achievements of India’s future leaders.
The ELevate journey began over six months ago for the children with qualifiers and regional leagues conducted across 9 cities and 50 villages. More than 10,000 children from government and low-income schools participated in mixed-gender football matches, original music composition abd performance competitions, and building block challenges — demonstrating exceptional teamwork, resilience, and decision-making.
Speaking about the National Finals, Ravi Sonnad, CEO, Enabling Leadership, shares: “ELevate is not about winning trophies. It’s about what children learn about themselves along the way — confidence, courage, teamwork, and the belief that given the right opportunity, they can define their own futures. The awards Enabling Leadership has received in recent months recognise the scale and depth of our work, but ELevate represents its heart. When 650 children step onto a national stage — competing, collaborating, and presenting impact projects — they embody leadership in its truest form. With scholarships supporting their higher education journeys, we are ensuring that talent is met with opportunity.”
From this nationwide journey, 650 outstanding students emerged as National Finalists, representing 55 teams that will now compete at the ELevate 2026 National Finals in Bengaluru. In recognition of both excellence and potential, scholarships worth Rs. 25 lakh will be awarded to approximately 200 national winners, supporting their access to higher education and helping remove financial barriers to their future aspirations.
What sets ELevate apart is its focus on leadership beyond the field and stage. Alongside the competitions, students present impact projects — real-world initiatives designed and implemented by the children themselves to address issues in their schools and communities. These projects reflect the practical application of leadership skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, empathy, and initiative, nurtured through Enabling Leadership’s year-long programs.
Through football, music, and creative problem-solving, ELevate enables children to experience equality in action, challenge stereotypes, and discover their own voice.
About Enabling Leadership
Enabling Leadership is a global non-profit organisation that equips children from under-served backgrounds with the essential Life and Leadership skills necessary for them to work themselves out of the cycle of poverty and become productive and responsible adults.
The organisation currently reaches around 10,000 children across 7 cities and 45 villages in India, Cambodia, Singapore and Kenya. Its programs use the mediums of music (Enabling Leadership Create), football (Enabling Leadership Play) and Lego-type building blocks (Enabling Leadership Build) to inculcate 21st century skills, values and attitudes so students grow to be tomorrow’s role models, global citizens, and change makers.
For more details, please visit: enablingleadership.org.
