The plan, as mentioned before, is to scout India for the best young talent born after 2010, and train them into high-class footballers that represent India at a World Cup in 2034. “We’re going to find kids that are 5-6 years old, give them free education for 12 years, and under the best coaches, make them into professional footballers. I already have a batch of children that aren’t even 11 years old and they’re beating U15, U17 teams. We have a residential academy, kids will be having sessions twice a day and attending school in the middle”.
The schedule for youngsters involves waking up at 5am, having a session in the morning, going to school, coming back, having another session, and spending the rest of the day watching football, with occasional physiotherapy sessions. Simply thinking of it sounds strenuous, however, it’s worked well for the club in the past.
Bajaj stressed upon the need to travel to the farthest, most unexplored districts of the country to look for talent, and not just focus on the major cities. “We are a country of 1.2 billion, but we don’t cover that many, we cover maybe 200 million, because we only focus on the major cities and centres.”
kudos for this.... looks like a good initiative....
AIFF must be doing this, but they want 2026 World cup qualification, when everyone knows that they may not even qualify for Asian cup in 2026 as it stands now..... Wish Bajaj takes the place of Abhishek Yadav (who will launch app , scout in dubai, usa, canada etc).. Atleast he has the vision & intention to do something...
One challenge with very small children is that whether Parents will send their 5 or 6 year old kids alone thousands of miles away in an academy ? In Europe, Academies are close to major metropolitan areas where parents drop the kids of that age in morning and take them back in evening. Parents will move to that city. Footballers of that young age study and play together whole day without being homesick as their family is not far away. In western countries, nutrition or facilities are not a problem even in poor families. In India, if left at home completely, poor nutrition will become an issue for many indian footballers.
Thats why multiple Academies- possibly in every state and big city are needed.
Yep.. PFC will get kids from the age of 5-6 , only from adjoining chandigarh & punjab areas, where parents can see their kid often...
They can get kids from North-east where the parents are willing to send their kids for a career option in football (but 5 years is too young)....
They can scout from orphanages, slums etc in major cities, villages where parents/caretakers would be willing to send their child , if taken good care.....
If we want the next Cheri, we need someone who has the same desire, hunger and mentality to succeed .....
Luk at the u17 World Cup footballers who all went to sit in the benches of isl clubs (Komal, Boris, Dheeraj, Gill etc ) .. They settled for fat salary packages & happy life here
Then there is Sanjeev Stalin, who is trying to find life in Portugal (he could have happily taken a fat contract with ATK and sit in bench). One Mishra is there as well playing in Portugal 3rd tier trying to move up... Ishan Kishan played in Spain 4th div and trying to move up...
Chetri, Gurpreet, Bhaichung all have went there and tried to compete in Faster European leagues...
These guys chose the tougher route, will need to compete with tough African boys (for whom it is a matter of survival and a chance to live in Europe) and they will be fast and physical.... We can find next Chetri only from there and unfortunately Igor Stimac is ignoring them... Instead he calls up benchwarmers Dheeraj, Rafique Ali , Gill to the national team squad... He is setting a dangerous precedent and making them lazy
So need to scout for boys with hunger and passion to become a footballer in India youth teams by going through the grind.... Hope Bibiano , Panda scout for guys who have the passion to become a top footballer, willing to struggle in Europe and learn instead of having a easy going happy satisfied mindset of earning some money via football and then settle down in home town with a football academy or a shop...
Comments
The plan, as mentioned before, is to scout India for the best young talent born after 2010, and train them into high-class footballers that represent India at a World Cup in 2034. “We’re going to find kids that are 5-6 years old, give them free education for 12 years, and under the best coaches, make them into professional footballers. I already have a batch of children that aren’t even 11 years old and they’re beating U15, U17 teams. We have a residential academy, kids will be having sessions twice a day and attending school in the middle”.
The schedule for youngsters involves waking up at 5am, having a session in the morning, going to school, coming back, having another session, and spending the rest of the day watching football, with occasional physiotherapy sessions. Simply thinking of it sounds strenuous, however, it’s worked well for the club in the past.
Bajaj stressed upon the need to travel to the farthest, most unexplored districts of the country to look for talent, and not just focus on the major cities. “We are a country of 1.2 billion, but we don’t cover that many, we cover maybe 200 million, because we only focus on the major cities and centres.”
kudos for this.... looks like a good initiative....
AIFF must be doing this, but they want 2026 World cup qualification, when everyone knows that they may not even qualify for Asian cup in 2026 as it stands now..... Wish Bajaj takes the place of Abhishek Yadav (who will launch app , scout in dubai, usa, canada etc).. Atleast he has the vision & intention to do something...
In Europe, Academies are close to major metropolitan areas where parents drop the kids of that age in morning and take them back in evening. Parents will move to that city. Footballers of that young age study and play together whole day without being homesick as their family is not far away.
In western countries, nutrition or facilities are not a problem even in poor families.
In India, if left at home completely, poor nutrition will become an issue for many indian footballers.
Thats why multiple Academies- possibly in every state and big city are needed.
They can get kids from North-east where the parents are willing to send their kids for a career option in football (but 5 years is too young)....
They can scout from orphanages, slums etc in major cities, villages where parents/caretakers would be willing to send their child , if taken good care.....
https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/fc-basel-chennai-city-fc-grassroots-academy-coimbatore/fkafa1cpip2t16a0q36vyxqeh
The future is good, with Batch 2034 of PFC, Batch 2030 of Chennai City FC & Upcoming batches from RFYS
2 nos I league clubs have come up with better long term vision and academy, than the isl clubs
Grace, glamour and Goswami: TFA cadets look back in wonder at the Chuni years
https://m.hindustantimes.com/football/grace-glamour-and-goswami-tfa-cadets-look-back-in-wonder-at-the-chuni-years/story-yjcMyStNlaFZ9SsIwvszAN_amp.htmlLuk at the u17 World Cup footballers who all went to sit in the benches of isl clubs (Komal, Boris, Dheeraj, Gill etc ) .. They settled for fat salary packages & happy life here
Then there is Sanjeev Stalin, who is trying to find life in Portugal (he could have happily taken a fat contract with ATK and sit in bench). One Mishra is there as well playing in Portugal 3rd tier trying to move up... Ishan Kishan played in Spain 4th div and trying to move up...
Chetri, Gurpreet, Bhaichung all have went there and tried to compete in Faster European leagues...
These guys chose the tougher route, will need to compete with tough African boys (for whom it is a matter of survival and a chance to live in Europe) and they will be fast and physical.... We can find next Chetri only from there and unfortunately Igor Stimac is ignoring them... Instead he calls up benchwarmers Dheeraj, Rafique Ali , Gill to the national team squad... He is setting a dangerous precedent and making them lazy
So need to scout for boys with hunger and passion to become a footballer in India youth teams by going through the grind.... Hope Bibiano , Panda scout for guys who have the passion to become a top footballer, willing to struggle in Europe and learn instead of having a easy going happy satisfied mindset of earning some money via football and then settle down in home town with a football academy or a shop...
https://www.espn.in/football/india/story/4084752/decoding-sunil-chhetri-will-perseverance-and-warriors-resolve