Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy: A fight for excellence braving financial crisis
All you need to know about Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy...
When Pronay Halder's screamer against Chinese Taipei nestled at the back of the net, a wide smile beamed across the face of Tapan Roy, secretary of the Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy (MBSFA). Halder spent his formative years as a footballer away from the hustle and bustle of Kolkata in this academy in Durgapur which has been set up as a joint venture between Mohun Bagan and SAIL subsidiary Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP). Souvik Chakrabarti, who made it to the preliminary 30-member squad for the Intercontinental Cup but got sidelined on the second day of the national camp with Chicken Pox also hails from this institute.
While DSP provides infrastructure support to this fully residential academy, Bagan has to pay the day-to-day expenses. The salaries of the coaches and maintenance of the facilities are also borne by the academy itself. While other grassroot establishments are charging hefty fees from their trainees, MBSFA remains one of the rare exceptions where not only all expenses are borne by the institution itself but also a stipend is provided to all players. However, in the absence of any sponsor, the academy is battling in its quest for survival.
"Late Gour Sadhan Bose donated ₹1cr for the first four years. We have listed this academy as a NGO so that we attract donors but that initiative has failed to garner sufficient response. We spend around ₹2.5 lakhs per year behind a trainee including his education. So if he stays in the academy for four years, we end up spending around ₹10 lakhs for him. But Indian football has not yet reached that stage where a club will break the bank for a potential future star," rued Roy from the sidelines of the ground where his young guns are busy in their afternoon training under the watchful eyes of chief coach Jo Paul Ancheri.
The success in the Manchester United Premier Cup back in 2006 remains the crowning jewel of the academy when the U-15s went on to qualify for the finals from the Asia-Pacific zone. Aizawl FC's David Lalrinmuana was the top scorer in the zonal finals. The squad was led by Sanjay Boro and comprised of several promising youngsters like Chakrabarti, Tirthankar Sarkar, Lalrozama Fanai, Malswamzuala and Dipendu Dowary to name a few. While the former Jamshedpur FC right back has gone from strength to strength, most of the other players have failed to do justice to their talents.
Explaining this predicament, Roy elucidated: "In the academy we follow a strict regime and the candidates have to maintain discipline. But once they are out of this protected environment their commitment dilutes. Sankar Oraon and Ram Malik are glaring examples. They were extremely talented and if they had concentrated solely on footbal,l they would have knocked on the doors of the national team. "
"Most of the players are always on the look-out for easy money. Their targets are small. They take part in five-a-side and seven-a-side tournamentsto earn Rs 500-600 per match and this is what satisfies them. Then if they manage to get a government job through sports quota then they are more than happy to shelve their football careers," said Roy.
After completing the evening training session, Ancheri chipped in with his own observations. The lethal striker from Kerala has spent a large chunk of his career in Kolkata as a player and is currently the technical head of the academy.
"Talents from Bengal are drying up. Most age group teams are dominated by players from other states. The U-17 World Cup has helped a bit to regenerate some interest in the cities but the whatever good players that we come across, usually hail from the rural and tribal areas," stated Ancheri.
Bagan have held several trials in various parts of Bengal and although the response has been good , the quality of players has failed to excite Anhceri. "At every venue around 400-500 kids turn up but we hardly find a player with that touch or instinct. Sometimes we come across raw talents. That is fine. If he practices here for a few years, we can polish him. But there has to be something to work upon."
The former India international also believes that lack of national level tournaments at age-group levels is another cause of concern.
"The IFA Shield and the I-Legaue are the two major national level tournaments. There we play a maximum of 20 matches combined. Throughout the year we have to play local age group tournaments. We went to play Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup a couple of years ago and then we went to Tripura as well. But these are not enough," he quipped.
Both Roy and Ancheri believe the All India Football Federation (AIFF) must start a U-20 league as most of the U-18 players are not good enough to break through the senior team of the parent club.
"Most of our academy players have either Indian Super League (ISL) or Mohun Bagan/East Bengal in their minds. They do not think about game time. It is our duty to guide them so that they can continue with their development after leaving the academy. Most of the time they become bench warmers which is detrimental to their career. Therefore, we always say that go to a club where you can start or at least start or get regular playing time," stated Ancheri.
This year Lirongthung Lotha and Jerry Pulamte have signed for Chennai City FC and NEROCA FC respectively and the coach remains confident that both his pupils will make a mark in the I-League.
But amidst all this optimism, the spectre of a serious cash crunch always lurks. Ancheri stated that an astroturf ground is a necessity as the field becomes unplayable during monsoons. Roy wants that his boys travel abroad and compete with foreign academies in order to improve their skillsets. But all these initiatives cannot take wings due to a perennial financial crisis.
Despite their lack of financial resources at the time being, the academy continues earnestly in its quest to become the breeding ground for future footballers of the country.
SAIL Football Academy Bokaro - Striving for excellence with each passing day
The Bokaro academy run by the state-owned steel giants has been playing a remarkable role in the rise of football in Jharkhand and India...
For 20 years now, the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) football academy at Bokaro has been shaping future talent for Indian football in its state-of-the-art facilities in the mineral-rich town.
The Bokaro facility is one of the two football-dedicated academies run by the state-owned steel-making giant. Promotion of sports has always been an integral part of SAIL’s philosophy since its inception in 1954. As and when the steel-making plants at Rourkela, Bhilai, Durgapur, Bokaro and Burnpur were set up, so were the sports facilities for workers and employees of the plant.
Over the years, a total of six academies dedicated to football, hockey, archery and athletics have mushroomed around the plants run by SAIL.
The football academy at Bokaro was set up in 1998. It is currently overseen by chief coach Subhash Rajak, who has been associated with the academy since 2008.
“When the academy was started in Bokaro in 1998, we started with the U-16 age group. In three years, we had established a senior age group too and the senior academy in Burnpur was formed,” he explains in a chat with Goal.
The residential academy at Bokaro has a capacity of 40 cadets. What sets this excellent academy apart from the several which have come up in India over the past few years is its whole-hearted dedication to the development of the trainees. Since its very beginning, the vision of the academy has been to provide every deserving child a pathway to professional football, no matter what his economic background is.
Recruited cadets at the academy are provided every facility, from their medical and schooling to their clothing and apparels. With the steel plant being a largely integrated facility, every single service ranging from schools, hospitals and transportation have been set up by SAIL within its township.
89 ACADEMIES CLEAR ACCREDITATION ASSESSMENT FOR 2019/20 SEASON
89 out of 123 clubs/academies who had applied for the academy accreditation have cleared the criteria this season (2019-20). Out of them, one academy (Reliance Foundation Young Champs) has received a 5-star rating followed by three academies/clubs (Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi), Jamshedpur FC and Bengaluru FC) who have obtained a 4-star rating. Meanwhile, seven academies have received 'Basic' accreditation also.
A club/academy is allowed to compete in the Youth Leagues (Hero Elite League, Hero Junior League and Hero Sub-Junior League) organised by AIFF, should they successfully clear the Accreditation process for the respective season. Incidentally, with a whopping success rate of 72%, the total number of successful academies has also gone up since the last season (83 academies cleared the process in 2018-19).
The Academy Accreditation process, which goes over six months, includes the establishment of the assessment criteria, organisation of workshops where the criteria were introduced and explained to all potential applicants, submission of mandatory documents for assessment followed by physical inspections carried out by designated AIFF personnel and the declaration of results.
All academies were assessed on the basis of age-group teams, technical support, training curriculum, talent identification and recruitment process, facilities and infrastructure, medical provisions and existing administrative support.
The list of successful club/academies in 2019-20 is as follows:
Basic: New Barrackpore Rainbow AC, Keshab-Uma Charitable Trust Football Academy, Lonestar FC, FF Academy, Pay for Right Youth and Cultural Club (Shillong), Football Leaders Academy - Sri Ma, Green Global Sports Academy.
1-Star: FC Kerala, ARA FC, Guruvayoor Sports Academy, Bangalore Youth Football League, Rangdajied United FC, TYDA, Sreenidhi Football Club, AU Rajasthan, Sports Authority of Jharkhand, The Hooghly District Sports Association, Maximus Prime Sports L. L. P., FAO Academy, Football Plus Professional Soccer Academy, Aazura Football Academy, Youth Soccer Academy, Bhawanipore FC, Real Kashmir FC, Chennai City FC, Aizawl FC, J&K Bank Football Academy, Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (Punjab), PIFA, Raman Sports Academy, Dhanbad Football Academy, Muthoot Football Academy, Sporting Clube de Goa, Indian Football Academy, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (Bengaluru), Churchill Brother FC, Football Academy of Bangalore.
2-Star: Salgaocar FC, Iron Born FC, Jain Academy for Sporting Excellence, Baroda Football Academy, Delhi Dynamos FC, Chennaiyin FC, FC Goa, Quess East Bengal FC, Conscient Football, SAIL Football Academy (Bokaro), Kerala Blasters FC, Bengal Football Academy, United Punjab Football Club, Football School of India, Roots Football School, Shillong Lajong FC, United Sports Club, FC Pune City, Don Bosco, Oscar SSE, FC Mumbaikars, SESA Football Academy, Raman Vijayan Soccer Schools, Great Goals, ATK, Ozone Football Academy, Baranagar Sporting Club, Numaligarh Football Academy, Stadium Sports Foundation, Bidhannagar Municipal Sports Academy, Mohun Bagan AC, J&K State Football Academy, Somaiya Sports Academy, Round Glass Sports, Gokulam Kerala FC, Sports Hostel Odisha, SAG Football Academy, India Rush Soccer Club, Football Club Mangalore, Kahaani FC, Parappur FC.
3-Star: Boca Juniors Football Schools, FC Madras, Kenkre FC, Youth Football Club, Minerva Punjab FC, Dempo SC.
4-Star: Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi), Jamshedpur FC, Bengaluru FC.
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Sikkim soccer club secures AIFF accreditation for I-League
https://nenow.in/north-east-news/sikkim-soccer-club-secures-aiff-accreditation-league.htmlMohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy: A fight for excellence braving financial crisis
When Pronay Halder's screamer against Chinese Taipei nestled at the back of the net, a wide smile beamed across the face of Tapan Roy, secretary of the Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy (MBSFA). Halder spent his formative years as a footballer away from the hustle and bustle of Kolkata in this academy in Durgapur which has been set up as a joint venture between Mohun Bagan and SAIL subsidiary Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP). Souvik Chakrabarti, who made it to the preliminary 30-member squad for the Intercontinental Cup but got sidelined on the second day of the national camp with Chicken Pox also hails from this institute.
While DSP provides infrastructure support to this fully residential academy, Bagan has to pay the day-to-day expenses. The salaries of the coaches and maintenance of the facilities are also borne by the academy itself. While other grassroot establishments are charging hefty fees from their trainees, MBSFA remains one of the rare exceptions where not only all expenses are borne by the institution itself but also a stipend is provided to all players. However, in the absence of any sponsor, the academy is battling in its quest for survival.
"Late Gour Sadhan Bose donated ₹1cr for the first four years. We have listed this academy as a NGO so that we attract donors but that initiative has failed to garner sufficient response. We spend around ₹2.5 lakhs per year behind a trainee including his education. So if he stays in the academy for four years, we end up spending around ₹10 lakhs for him. But Indian football has not yet reached that stage where a club will break the bank for a potential future star," rued Roy from the sidelines of the ground where his young guns are busy in their afternoon training under the watchful eyes of chief coach Jo Paul Ancheri.
The success in the Manchester United Premier Cup back in 2006 remains the crowning jewel of the academy when the U-15s went on to qualify for the finals from the Asia-Pacific zone. Aizawl FC's David Lalrinmuana was the top scorer in the zonal finals. The squad was led by Sanjay Boro and comprised of several promising youngsters like Chakrabarti, Tirthankar Sarkar, Lalrozama Fanai, Malswamzuala and Dipendu Dowary to name a few. While the former Jamshedpur FC right back has gone from strength to strength, most of the other players have failed to do justice to their talents.
Explaining this predicament, Roy elucidated: "In the academy we follow a strict regime and the candidates have to maintain discipline. But once they are out of this protected environment their commitment dilutes. Sankar Oraon and Ram Malik are glaring examples. They were extremely talented and if they had concentrated solely on footbal,l they would have knocked on the doors of the national team. "
"Most of the players are always on the look-out for easy money. Their targets are small. They take part in five-a-side and seven-a-side tournamentsto earn Rs 500-600 per match and this is what satisfies them. Then if they manage to get a government job through sports quota then they are more than happy to shelve their football careers," said Roy.
After completing the evening training session, Ancheri chipped in with his own observations. The lethal striker from Kerala has spent a large chunk of his career in Kolkata as a player and is currently the technical head of the academy.
"Talents from Bengal are drying up. Most age group teams are dominated by players from other states. The U-17 World Cup has helped a bit to regenerate some interest in the cities but the whatever good players that we come across, usually hail from the rural and tribal areas," stated Ancheri.
Bagan have held several trials in various parts of Bengal and although the response has been good , the quality of players has failed to excite Anhceri. "At every venue around 400-500 kids turn up but we hardly find a player with that touch or instinct. Sometimes we come across raw talents. That is fine. If he practices here for a few years, we can polish him. But there has to be something to work upon."
The former India international also believes that lack of national level tournaments at age-group levels is another cause of concern.
"The IFA Shield and the I-Legaue are the two major national level tournaments. There we play a maximum of 20 matches combined. Throughout the year we have to play local age group tournaments. We went to play Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup a couple of years ago and then we went to Tripura as well. But these are not enough," he quipped.
Both Roy and Ancheri believe the All India Football Federation (AIFF) must start a U-20 league as most of the U-18 players are not good enough to break through the senior team of the parent club.
"Most of our academy players have either Indian Super League (ISL) or Mohun Bagan/East Bengal in their minds. They do not think about game time. It is our duty to guide them so that they can continue with their development after leaving the academy. Most of the time they become bench warmers which is detrimental to their career. Therefore, we always say that go to a club where you can start or at least start or get regular playing time," stated Ancheri.
This year Lirongthung Lotha and Jerry Pulamte have signed for Chennai City FC and NEROCA FC respectively and the coach remains confident that both his pupils will make a mark in the I-League.
But amidst all this optimism, the spectre of a serious cash crunch always lurks. Ancheri stated that an astroturf ground is a necessity as the field becomes unplayable during monsoons. Roy wants that his boys travel abroad and compete with foreign academies in order to improve their skillsets. But all these initiatives cannot take wings due to a perennial financial crisis.
Despite their lack of financial resources at the time being, the academy continues earnestly in its quest to become the breeding ground for future footballers of the country.
IYSA Josh Football Academy - A community-based football programme standing out among the crowd
SAIL Football Academy Bokaro - Striving for excellence with each passing day
For 20 years now, the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) football academy at Bokaro has been shaping future talent for Indian football in its state-of-the-art facilities in the mineral-rich town.
The Bokaro facility is one of the two football-dedicated academies run by the state-owned steel-making giant. Promotion of sports has always been an integral part of SAIL’s philosophy since its inception in 1954. As and when the steel-making plants at Rourkela, Bhilai, Durgapur, Bokaro and Burnpur were set up, so were the sports facilities for workers and employees of the plant.
Over the years, a total of six academies dedicated to football, hockey, archery and athletics have mushroomed around the plants run by SAIL.
The football academy at Bokaro was set up in 1998. It is currently overseen by chief coach Subhash Rajak, who has been associated with the academy since 2008.
“When the academy was started in Bokaro in 1998, we started with the U-16 age group. In three years, we had established a senior age group too and the senior academy in Burnpur was formed,” he explains in a chat with Goal.
The residential academy at Bokaro has a capacity of 40 cadets. What sets this excellent academy apart from the several which have come up in India over the past few years is its whole-hearted dedication to the development of the trainees. Since its very beginning, the vision of the academy has been to provide every deserving child a pathway to professional football, no matter what his economic background is.
Recruited cadets at the academy are provided every facility, from their medical and schooling to their clothing and apparels. With the steel plant being a largely integrated facility, every single service ranging from schools, hospitals and transportation have been set up by SAIL within its township.
89 ACADEMIES CLEAR ACCREDITATION ASSESSMENT FOR 2019/20 SEASON
89 out of 123 clubs/academies who had applied for the academy accreditation have cleared the criteria this season (2019-20). Out of them, one academy (Reliance Foundation Young Champs) has received a 5-star rating followed by three academies/clubs (Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi), Jamshedpur FC and Bengaluru FC) who have obtained a 4-star rating. Meanwhile, seven academies have received 'Basic' accreditation also.
A club/academy is allowed to compete in the Youth Leagues (Hero Elite League, Hero Junior League and Hero Sub-Junior League) organised by AIFF, should they successfully clear the Accreditation process for the respective season. Incidentally, with a whopping success rate of 72%, the total number of successful academies has also gone up since the last season (83 academies cleared the process in 2018-19).
The Academy Accreditation process, which goes over six months, includes the establishment of the assessment criteria, organisation of workshops where the criteria were introduced and explained to all potential applicants, submission of mandatory documents for assessment followed by physical inspections carried out by designated AIFF personnel and the declaration of results.
All academies were assessed on the basis of age-group teams, technical support, training curriculum, talent identification and recruitment process, facilities and infrastructure, medical provisions and existing administrative support.
The list of successful club/academies in 2019-20 is as follows:
Basic: New Barrackpore Rainbow AC, Keshab-Uma Charitable Trust Football Academy, Lonestar FC, FF Academy, Pay for Right Youth and Cultural Club (Shillong), Football Leaders Academy - Sri Ma, Green Global Sports Academy.
1-Star: FC Kerala, ARA FC, Guruvayoor Sports Academy, Bangalore Youth Football League, Rangdajied United FC, TYDA, Sreenidhi Football Club, AU Rajasthan, Sports Authority of Jharkhand, The Hooghly District Sports Association, Maximus Prime Sports L. L. P., FAO Academy, Football Plus Professional Soccer Academy, Aazura Football Academy, Youth Soccer Academy, Bhawanipore FC, Real Kashmir FC, Chennai City FC, Aizawl FC, J&K Bank Football Academy, Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (Punjab), PIFA, Raman Sports Academy, Dhanbad Football Academy, Muthoot Football Academy, Sporting Clube de Goa, Indian Football Academy, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (Bengaluru), Churchill Brother FC, Football Academy of Bangalore.
2-Star: Salgaocar FC, Iron Born FC, Jain Academy for Sporting Excellence, Baroda Football Academy, Delhi Dynamos FC, Chennaiyin FC, FC Goa, Quess East Bengal FC, Conscient Football, SAIL Football Academy (Bokaro), Kerala Blasters FC, Bengal Football Academy, United Punjab Football Club, Football School of India, Roots Football School, Shillong Lajong FC, United Sports Club, FC Pune City, Don Bosco, Oscar SSE, FC Mumbaikars, SESA Football Academy, Raman Vijayan Soccer Schools, Great Goals, ATK, Ozone Football Academy, Baranagar Sporting Club, Numaligarh Football Academy, Stadium Sports Foundation, Bidhannagar Municipal Sports Academy, Mohun Bagan AC, J&K State Football Academy, Somaiya Sports Academy, Round Glass Sports, Gokulam Kerala FC, Sports Hostel Odisha, SAG Football Academy, India Rush Soccer Club, Football Club Mangalore, Kahaani FC, Parappur FC.
3-Star: Boca Juniors Football Schools, FC Madras, Kenkre FC, Youth Football Club, Minerva Punjab FC, Dempo SC.
4-Star: Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi), Jamshedpur FC, Bengaluru FC.
5-Star: Reliance Foundation Young Champs.
https://www.the-aiff.com/news-center-details.htm?id=9754
Where is Sudeva FC these days ?? Simla Youngs ?