Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy
20th July’2003 Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy was born with the view to train Indians footballer and make India a better football playing nation in the future. The academy is a joint venture of Mohun Bagan and Steel Authority of India. The academy is situated in Durgapur, district Burdwan, West Bengal. Durgapur is a planned modern city, 183 kilometers away from Kolkata. The residential academy is one of its kinds, with strong infrastructure and facilities, the academy is going steady and already in the process of supplying talented and trained players to different clubs of India. The academy under watchful eyes of In Charge & Asst. General Secretary Mr. Tapan Roy, roped in Coach Roy Barreto, who is currently in charge of training the young colts of the academy. The Technical Director of Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy, Mr. Shyam Thapa says “The Academy aims at producing class footballers who can serve Mohun Bagan and other clubs and thus serving India in the bigger arena.”
The academy follows a strict schedule for training and also takes into consideration the education and personal growth of each player. Mr. Thapa Says, “Not only physical but also the mental growth is absolutely necessary for a complete footballer.”
| Time |
Schedule |
| 6:20 AM |
Players report for attendance at the ground located inside the academy. |
| 6:30 AM - 8:30 AM |
Practice |
| 9:00 - 9:30 AM |
Break Fast |
| 10:30 AM - 3:30 PM |
School Timing |
| 4:20 PM |
Players report for attendance at the ground located inside the academy. |
| 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM |
Practice |
| 6:30 PM - 7:00 PM |
Recovery Time |
| 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM |
Education, Interactive English Class and Computer Class |
| 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
Dinner |
The Academy, apart from curriculum education, arranged for Computer coaching classes and Interactive English Classes so that the players are well placed in the society and also use the same to make their career sound.
The training Schedule also includes tri-weekly gymnasium training depending on the climate and season. The Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy has a gymnasium in its campus and serves the off-ground training techniques.
Food and Diet Chart
A proper diet rich in nutrients has been designed for the players, by specialised nutritionist to give the young growing players the full support. Quality of food is also very important and the staffs are directed to maintain the same.
Hostel Facility
Generally three players are accommodated in a single room, which has all the basic amenities. “The hostel facility is quite comfortable we generally face no issues regarding the same” says Phalguni, the14 year old talented Manipuri. The hostel does have medical facility and proper canteen for the players. The medical facility is quite satisfactory for first aid and minor injuries; the medical room with its gadgets is always ready to serve the players.
Training
The coaching staff under the guidance of Roy Barreto trains the cadets with a very scientific approach. Roy Barreto strictly supervises the practice and is very particular about the way things go on the field. The interaction with the players on field is the strength of the whole system. Shyam Thapa is mainly responsible for the full structure of the academy and also is the prime figure to design the selection procedure.
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| The Line Up |
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| Training Roy Barreto and his coaching Staffs |
The future looks Optimistic
Player like Sankar Orao, Vasum are already making news in the I League and local tournaments. Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy hopes to produce such talents in massive numbers and be the pipeline for presenting talented well trained footballers to the country. 2007-2008 saw seven players getting into Mohun Bagan Athletic Club.
| Player Name |
Position |
| Laishram Arunjit Singh |
Defender |
| Lal Daniela |
Defender |
| Takhellambam Suraj Singh |
Forward |
| Sanjay Boro |
Midfielder |
| Souvik Chakroborty |
Midfielder |
| B.Malsawmzuala |
Forward |
| Suman Bose |
Midfielder |
Chit Chat Session with the Players
Dinichandra of Manipur
U-14
Position: Left Back
“Though I play as a left back, my idol is David Beckham.”
K Phalguni of Manipur
U-14
Position: Central Midfielder
“I represented India, played against Bangladesh for U-14 championship. I want to play in the senior team too. I love watching Christiano Ronaldo.”
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Subhankar Dey of West Bengal
U-19
Position: Right Back
“I started playing football when I was a kid, trained in Shyamnagar, 24Pgs North, West Bengal under guidance of local coach. The life changed once I reached Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy. I played in the Manchester United Cup in Manchester, England, which gave me a huge break. After graduating from this academy, I hope to play for the biggest clubs in the country and also represent National Team for international events.”
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Rendezvous with Shyam Thapa
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SMS: The Technical Director of Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy, how do plan the future of these talented young players?
Mr. Thapa: Being the academy provides every basic need, infrastructure, mechanisms and technical knowledge, which the players can bank upon and utilise to the fullest extent. With the help of Mohun Bagan and SAIL I hope to produce ready players to the country. Bengal was the Mecca of Indian Football, being this academy situated in Bengal; I would love to see the golden era of Bengal Football revive just like a phoenix. Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy gives a maximum exposure to the players of this academy, the education and other personality development courses will make them a better human. A footballer with loads of skill and no intellect is useless, the academy knows this well and trains each and every individual player with the care they need to get settled in life being Football as their career.
SMS: Right now, which place do you consider as the powerhouse of Indian Football?
Mr. Thapa: it would be unwise to name a state or a region. Maharashtra, Goa, Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir and many more states produces footballers. But I would like to mention the North-Eastern States like Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram and others who really produce talented players, neglecting the suffering, due to poverty, they go through.
SMS: What is the need of the hour for the betterment of Football in India?
Mr. Thapa: We need to make more and more academies, camps and tournaments so that we spot talented player and train them. In India poverty sometimes confines the talent within, we need to scout rural areas of the country and get such needy yet talented players. AIFF should help and assist the academies who are working for the betterment of football. We should start national level U-14 and U-17 leagues and tournaments.
SMS: Is it hard to scout and spot players?
Mr. Thapa: Definitely it’s a tough and tedious work, but we have to pay this price if we aim to develop ourselves. I personally went to north Bengal and took trial from schools and local academies. Response from places like Kohima is superb and promising. I am planning to visit Imphal this year to rope in talents from Manipur.
SMS: Durgapur, Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy and Football, any plan to attract crowd here?
Mr. Thapa: Yes, we do have plans for promoting football in this city and the State. We plan to organise a U-17 International tournament in Durgapur. If everything goes according to plan, we will see certain International clubs from Europe, Latin America and Asia participating in the tournament.
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Roy Barreto and Indian Football
The Portuguese coach had a long chat with us regarding football. We decided to take his views on Indian football and the negative side of the infrastructure of the football system in India. He coached different clubs at different countries, and thus the best person to take the lessons from.
SMS: Your take on Indian Football?
Mr. Roy Barreto: I have been in India for just a month now, I know less about the system here, but what I see is bad news for any football lover. People ask me, what style of football will you teach the kids, Brazilian style or Power Football like African countries play? I say why? Is there nothing called Indian Style of football! Our basic training is not up to the mark out here. “Passing” and “Receiving” are bread and butter of football, without which one won’t survive. I find kids here having basics wrong. We should work at the grass root level in order to develop football.
SMS: What should be the first step?
Mr. Roy Barreto: First and foremost, physical education should be paid much more importance in the schools. The schooling system should also encourage kids to take up sports as career. People think India is the synonym of Cricket, and kids are much more interested in the said game. But I feel football and its passion still prevails in the country. One Bayern Munchen vs Mohun Bagan match was an eye-opener to all of us. So we should promote football and attract more and more kids.
SMS: We do well in U-14, U-15 or U-17 tournaments, why do we get disoriented when it comes to senior level?
Mr. Roy Barreto: In Europe, Africa or America, kids take up football seriously at the age of 7. Indians do the same not before they are 11 years old. We have already lost 4 crucial years. In these four years the European or African boy has a steady physical and talent growth. By the time they are 19 they are ready to face the best players in the country. In India, you fight till you are 17 and then suddenly gets perplexed as they are already much advanced than us.
SMS: Coming back to Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy, how do you see our players performing in the future tournaments?
Mr. Roy Barreto: That’s the problem with Indian football. This system is much more result oriented. We should not indulge in expecting results from the team, instead we should be patient, make proper infrastructure, get ready for future and then dream of fancy results in tournaments.
Reporting team : Partha Roy, Pragyan Banerjee, Arnab Bhattacharjee, Prasenjit Mitra
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