SAIL promotes football in Jharkhand

New Delhi, July 26 (UNI) The public sector Bokaro Steel Plant under the aegis of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in Jharkhand is promoting football in a big way.

According to an official release issued here today, every year, the SAIL Football Academy scouts for new talents in the game across the country. Teenage boys who qualify in the selection tests are brought to Bokaro to be trained by coaches. The junior batch is trained in Bokaro and the senior group in Kolkata. The senior group plays for SAIL Football Academy, Kolkata in the super league matches.

Peter Thangraj is the brain behind the Academy. Now 70, he was a brilliant goalkeeper of his times and represented India in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia where the national football team had finished fourth. Thangraj had also played for India in the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia against South Korea. India had won the gold medal in football by defeating South Korea 2-1.

That was the last time India got a gold medal in international football.

The total strength of the Academy at present is 48. Every player selected for coaching in the Academy gets a stipend of Rs 500 in the first phase, Rs 600 in the second phase and Rs 700 in the third phase. They all are provided free boarding and lodging. The number of trainees from the North-East is seven at present. The Academy team has won Subroto Cup four times so far. Two of the players have been chosen by the East Bengal Club. Besides India, selected SFA cadets have played in the Indian team in the age groups of 17, 19 and 21 years in several countries including Japan, UK, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Portugal.

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