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IndianFootball.Com Interview: SUBRATA DUTTA
As far as we are aware, the IFA may be not only the first but the only state football association in the country that has a proper residential football academy. Please tell us how the academy came about and when it was established.
It was my dream to establish a residential football academy. In 2004 I went to Haldia for a tournament where I met Mr. Lakhsman Sett (a Member of Parliament from Haldia), who was very enthusiastic to develop the standard of Bengal football. I proposed to him to start a residential football academy there to which he readily agreed. The IFA joined hands with the Country Sports Foundation (CSF) of Haldia who sponsors 60% of the cost to run the academy.
Where is the academy located? How big is it in terms of facilities, area and trainees? Is it a residential academy?
The Academy is based in Haldia (south of Calcutta; Purba Midnapur District).
What are the annual expenses of the academy and how are the expenses met? How many people work at the academy on a full time and part time basis?
The annual expenses of the academy are about Rs. 30 lakhs (Rs. 3 Million). The expenses are jointly borne by CSF which is headed by Mr. Lakhshman Sett and the IFA. We have a full time AFC 'A' License Coach, Mr. Sujit Chakraborty. There is a full time assistant coach, Physiotherapist and a physical trainer. A part time Doctor, a Psychologist and a part time Nutritionist are also retained.
What is the maximum capacity of the academy in terms of students that can be trained at the same time? How many students are being trained right now? Do all students/trainees get the same training or is there a more intensive course for some trainees?
There are 24 trainees who are trained by the technical staff according to their individual needs and also for the team game.
It is only located at Haldia. All the infrastructural requirements are provided by CSF. We would like to increase the capacity of the existing academy and also set up more academies provided we find a partner in progress to finance our projects.
Do you have any tie-ups with coaches or institutions from overseas to develop both the coaches that train and the trainees. How do you ensure that the coaches remain at the cutting edge of coaching and training?
No tie-ups exist now but we would like to have one for our benefit. We bring football experts from abroad to the Academy who not only upgrade our technical staff but also gives short term specialized training to our students.
How are trainees selected, what is their age and how long do they stay at the Academy until they "graduate"?
The trainees are selected from the spotted boys of Calcutta Nursery division league in which 65 clubs participate. They have to be in the academy for 5 years.
As a trainee what does a child get in terms of training and facilities from the academy?
As I told you earlier, the academy has decent accommodation for all the trainees, one big classroom for theory classes, a canteen with dinning hall, a bus to take the trainees to the playground, swimming pool, gymnasium and to their school where all the boys study. We also provide private tutor facility to the trainees. All apparel, kits, gears and medical assistance is provided to them. Pocket expenses of all the trainees are also borne by the Academy.
1. A football development plan and its professional implementation.
Calcutta is slated to get a training academy for the different age group based Indian teams to hone talent in football. The other such facility as per announcements is supposed to come up in Goa. How are the preparations going and will that academy be something totally independent of the IFA Academy?
There is no plan of the AIFF to start a training academy at Calcutta or in Bengal.
Who have been some of the most famous graduates of the academy so far? Any major awards/tournaments that the IFA academy has won?
The Academy is in the third year so no one has graduated as yet. But the IFA Academy has become the winners or runners-up of most of the tournaments it has played this year. The under-16 Bengal team which won the National Championship this year had 7 players from the academy.
What do you think about IndianFootball.Com and its work?
It is doing a fantastic job for Indian football!
Many, many thanks for all your work for the betterment of Indian football over the years and for the time taken to give us this interview!
It's my pleasure.
[ IndianFootball.Com interviews ] © IndianFootball.Com 2007
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After criss-crossing many parts of India, covering various youth football projects, we finally reach West Bengal, one of the two key centres of the beautiful game along with Goa. To our pleasant surprise, a residential football academy in this state is being run by none other than the state football association (Indian Football Association or IFA for short). That fact alone puts the IFA far ahead of all if not most of the State FA's.
How many locations does the academy have today? Does the academy own the facilities or is it renting them? Are there any plans on establishing new academies in the state or increasing the capacity of the existing academy?
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