The Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) — the largest civic body in north Bengal — launched its football academy at the Kanchenjunga Stadium here on Thursday.
Mayor Gautam Deb formally inaugurated the academy and said the initiative would prepare promising football talents of Siliguri and adjacent areas for national-level soccer tournaments.
“We have started the football academy to provide proper coaching to the budding talents. This will help them to hone their play so that they can find the opportunity to play in different football clubs of the country,” Deb said after opening the academy at the stadium.
Deputy mayor Ranjan Sarkar and representatives of the Siliguri Mahakuma Krira Parishad, the sub-divisional sports body of Siliguri, were present at the function.
Sources said that initially, 50 young footballers would be trained at the academy from two age groups, Under 12 and Under 14.
They have been selected by experts from tea estates and other areas of the Siliguri subdivision, said Jaybrata Ghosh, the chief coach of the academy.
“We have selected the players through a screening camp conducted at Naxalbari in September this year in their respective age groups. We plan to improve the skills of these players so that some of them can participate in next year's Youth I League (a tournament for young footballers),” said coach Ghosh, holder of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) A licence.
He will be assisted by Ajay Tamang and Pulak Ghosh, who are diploma licence holders of the AFC. Dipankar Debnath, with an AFC C diploma and goalkeeper level-1 licence, will be coaching goalkeeping.
Sources in the civic body said they had started the necessary procedures for the participation of a team of the SMC in the Youth-I League hosted by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
At the academy, training will be held from 7.30am to 9.30am on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
“Although it isn't a residential football academy, the civic board is shouldering the responsibility of giving players football kits and maintaining the soccer ground,” said a source.
