West Brom's Jonas Olsson stunned by visit to India

Jonas Olsson says the shock of travelling to the slums of India will 'live with him forever'.

Albion's long-serving centre-back returned yesterday from his five-day promotional trip to the state of New Delhi to observe the club's community coaching project which is teaching football to children in more than 1,000 Indian schools.

As well as visiting the most deprived areas around the capital, the 33-year-old also played football with youngsters, helped out with coaching and was a special guest at the house of the Indian Vice-President.

Throughout his trip, locals flocked around the long-haired Swede and followed him through the streets.

Their deprived living conditions touched Olsson, and left a lasting impression on him.

"The children we visited have very little," he said. "Their shoes – if they have them – are well worn.

"They live difficult lives and face a number of challenges every day. Where their next meal is coming from is not always clear.

"I spent a couple of hours with them and they seemed to really enjoy my visit – but I think it will have a greater long-term impact on me.

"It was humbling to be in their company. Football seemed trivial in their circumstances.

"They live on streets with open sewers, little access to clean water, and an alarming shortage of toilets.

"They have no healthcare insurance and live in an area where the most common job is rag picking.

"So to be there to play football with the children was a little odd.

"I wish I could have fixed all of their other problems, but I'm a footballer not a politician, so play football we did."

Olsson first asked to see the club's project last summer but Baggies boss Tony Pulis didn't want him going to India during the season so he hasn't been able to visit until now.

When the centre-back found out he wasn't going to be in Sweden's squad for this summer's European Championships, he asked again.

There is a commercial element to Albion's 'Pass It Forward' campaign, which also aims to build support for the Baggies in India, but Olsson has praised the impact the project is having on the community.

He said: "Within a couple of hours of landing I experienced my first visit to a slum. It was quite shocking. It doesn't matter how many documentaries or news reports you watch, nothing can prepare you for it.

"The club's Pass It Forward programme will see coaches visit over 1,000 schools in Delhi.

"The football is key to keeping the children on the right path.

"Football is the driver and I really think it can be used positively to force social change.

"I believe it can help the young children here dream of a brighter future. I really hope it does. I know the memories I have from my first day in India will live with me forever."

Rob Lake, director of club charity The Albion Foundation, heaped praise on Olsson saying: "I cannot speak highly enough of the way he has behaved during the trip. His loving nature towards the children was apparent from the moment he stepped into the slums.

"He could not have done more for the kids and they took him into their hearts immediately.

"He made time for everyone he met and in my wildest dreams I could not have expected him to have embraced the trip the way he did."