State youths to train in Germany

From Our Correspondent

KOKRAJHAR, June 16: Under the Football Development programme supported by the Tata Trusts, a selection camp for talent footballers was conducted at SAI Special Area Games at Kokrajhar on Thursday. From the selection process scholarships would be provided to 10 best children who will be going to Germany for the training. This scholarship will cover their entire cost of training, lodging and boarding.

 Talking to media persons, the Council Head of the Department (CHD), Sports ad outh Welfare, BTC, Jagyabati Basumatary Mohilary said initially, these scholarships will be directly provided to these children or with the help of Centre of Microfince and Livelihood (Guwahati) and North East India Development Agency (Kohima) which are Associate Partners of the Tata Trusts in the North East India.

She said the scholarship programme also has partners with U. Sports (Mumbai) and Germany under a premier collaborative football training programme (called as U. Dream Football) which has been designed to help talented young Indian footballers to prepare out to pursue a career in professiol football in any part of the world, starting with Europe. The programme will identify talent at an early age of 13 to 14 years and offer intertiol training, academic and infrastructure support to help them advance as a professiol footballer. The programme is currently offered in Germany in association with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and the Bundesliga, where boys Under 15 (U-15) age talented footballers selected from India are enrolled in a 6-year full time rigorous programme to aid their development into a career as a professiol footballer.

As the next batch of the U. Dream Football Programme plans to set out or leave India in July 2016, the sponsors are looking to scout for highly skilled and talented U-15 footballers in the following three states- Manipur, Meghalaya and Assam (Bodoland region) which is also likely to include Tripura. The team is traveling to all locations for the purpose of scouting.

Sources said in each location, scouting is carried out over 2-3 days, depending on responses and logistics, etc. The sponsors are keen to work with all the stakeholders to promote the grassroots football, where revival of soccer in India lies. Once the process is completed, the candidate’s will be facilitated for moving to Germany.

The selection camp was made in presence of senior programme mager of Tata Trusts Chalini Lokho, Nikhil Kharbanda of U. Sports (Mumbai) and Fabian Ewerpz, coach from Scotland.