Chandigarh to get its first football academy

Almost three decades after its inception, the Chandigarh Football Association (CFA) will finally start city’s first residential football academy. The Sanjay Gandhi Educational Society will open the Champions Football Academy at Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Sector 44, right in the heart of the city.

For the first time, the CFA has announced to affiliate an academy to develop the sport at school level even as the association has various clubs (having voting rights) affiliated to it.

In the Champions Football Academy, players will be given free education and lodging while they play for Chandigarh. Under the initiative, 10 local players will be picked under a quota, along with the players from other states. The players will be trained under IP Nagi, former director, Sports Authority of India (SAI).

“We have the experience of running a full residential academy in the past. As the CFA approached us with the project, we agreed to redevelop football at grassroot level in Chandigarh,” said Ranjan Sethi, president, Sanjay Gandhi Educational Society.

“Our main motive is to promote football with a likeminded approach and especially for the benefit of local footballers. Even the state-run football academy does not give preference to Chandigarh footballers. We have decided to reserve 10 seats for the local footballers. To start with, the players will practice at the Sector 44 ground and we will keep on adding facilities for the players,” added Sethi.

He said 20 talented players born in 2012 and 2013 will be shortlisted through the trials conducted by expert coaches and will be inducted for a holistic development programme by giving scholarships and free accommodation. “The academy will serve as an ideal platform for aspiring players who dream of joining top football clubs in India and abroad. The players will be able to maintain a balance between education and sport,” said Nagi, accompanied by KP Singh, president, CFA, who also attended the meeting.

In the absence of a proper tournament setup, the local footballers are unable to get access to state scholarships.

Chandigarh