Ignore cricketers, encourage other disciplines of sports: Kirmani

Bangalore, Nov 20 (UNI) Former wicket keeper S M H Kirmani today said ''cricketers have been pampered a lot, ignore them and encourage other disciplines of sports.'' Speaking at a function, organised to announce the launch of SPT Sports Academy's Football Academy, aimed to attract children from age five to 15 towards soccer game, Kirmani said ''cricketers can take care of themselves, but sponsors should come forward to promote other sports including hockey, football and volleyball.'' Alleging that sports other than cricket had been ignored a lot, Kirmani said that sponsors especially from corporate sector should come forward to build proper infrastructure needed to identify and mould the young talents in all other disciplines of sports.

International hockey player Ashish Balal, who was running a hockey club said that the academy should motivate the children and matches should be conducted regularly to see that children did not get bored and keep away from the field.

SPT Sports Founder and CEO Amit Saran said in its endeavour to promote and popularise various sports among kids in the country, Sunfeast had tied up with SPT Sports Academy to form a Football division in Bangalore. It aimed to raise the bar of Indian football and promote it at the grass root level by imparting world class coaching facilities to aspiring kids.

He said ''it was felt that cricket has outgrown itself and the future sport of India is football. The exposure to football has also increased and people are getting more involved in the game. The quality of international football is so exciting that more and more youngsters are getting drawn towards it.'' Sunfeast Brand Manager Navaneel Kar, who launched the academy, said ''games and sports play a critical role in the overall development of kids and it has been identified by Sunfeast as essential vehicles to communicate with the kids.'' UNI