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After three-and-a-half months’ of gruelling work, Bengal as well as Indian football got the gift of a newly built stadium at Barasat in North 24 Parganas. The stadium that had staged several Kolkata Premier League football matches and even I-League matches frequently was shut down for almost last one year. The reason was the reconstruction of the stadium ground where an astro-turf was to be laid under FIFA’s ‘Goal’ project.
A Dutch company has completed the installation of the astro-turf at the stadium and handed it over to the authority of the stadium, Indian Football Association (IFA) on April 6. An IFA assistant secretary informed, “As the total financial support for the installation of turf has come under FIFA’s Goal Project, the quality of the astro-turf can be compared to world’s any top quality astro-turf. The Dutch company has promised us that the astro-turf will have a warranty of next 15 years.”
Along with the installation of the astro-turf, the whole Stadium complex has been renovated with the construction of a swimming pool, a tennis court, a two-storied residential hostel and even a big space with nets for practising cricket.
The IFA now, with the newly built stadium, is all set to start its residential football school at Barasat Stadium. The IFA has been running its academy for the last couple of years at Howrah Stadium, but in an unsystematic way. Now, looking forward to its permanent solution, the state football association recently conducted a selection trial for its academy where 2500 boys from all over Bengal appeared.
According to IFA plans, 40 promising boys will finally be taken into its academy. The boys will be nurtured for three years before they get released from the academy.
At the same time, the IFA is also in search of an experienced foreign coach for the academy.
When asked about any plans to host a match at the newly built Barasat Stadium, IFA executive hinted that the IFA nursery football league is likely to start soon. It may happen that the nursery league final is staged at Barasat Stadium. “The kids will be thrilled if they can first get the opportunity to play a match at the newly installed astro-turf. Otherwise, we can ask the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to allot an I-League match at the Stadium.”
However, the IFA is going to introduce a women’s knock-out football championship this season. This is a reflection of FIFA’s recent appeal to the AIFF to start exploring more tournaments and training camps for Indian women’s football. The first eight teams in the recently concluded Kolkata women’s football league will play the knock-out championship.
