PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Jan 17 : Leading football cradle, Tata Football Academy (TFA), turned 35 today.
A new chapter began in the history of Indian football when TFA was established on January 17, 1987, by Russi Mody, the then chairman- cum- managing director of Tata Steel. The academy was his brainchild.
All time soccer stars including Olympians like Sailen Manna, Sheoo Mewalal, Runu Guha Thakurta, Pradip Kumar Banerjee, MS Mani and Chuni Goswami (Advisor, Sports and Games, Tata Steel) were present at the occasion. Altogether, 20 cadets were selected for the first batch with international star, Mohammed Habib, as chief coach.
Russi Mody had said that the aim of Tatas in establishing the academy is not to create a Tata team or even to build a good team but to provide India with a solid base on which football could be built in the next five years.
The objective of the academy is to select, nurture and prepare budding footballers from across the country in the most scientific way.
Notably, a total of 252 cadets have graduated till date.
About 150 cadets have represented the country till date (i.e. over 60% of cadets). Twenty- four cadets have captained the Indian football team in various age group competitions.
In the current Indian Super League (ISL) season, 21 ex-cadets are playing for different clubs.
Ex-cadets, Deepak Mandal and Subrata Paul, conferred with Arjuna Award.
TFA was upgraded to four-star accreditation rating by the All-India Football Federation (AIFF).
It was also awarded for “Continuous contributions to Indian Football” by AIFF. Such recognition has been conferred for the first time to any institution by AIFF.
TFA was also awarded “The Hall of Fame – Youth Development Award” for its contribution to Indian football by Global Soccer Conclave during a virtual event.
