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What’s the story?
The Indian Army has been handed over the project of augmenting the lives in the North Eastern regions of India through football. In order to better the infrastructure and facilities of football in Nagaland, a total of 44 Assam Rifles from the Army regiment have been appointed in order to construct a football field at the Ashoka Village in Mokochung.
The initial task was to clear verdure and level the land on which the ground was to be made. However, after the completion of the said tasks, heavy engineering works were commenced in order to shape the hilly terrain. The Indian Army Regiment further lent a hand in the endowing of the location on which the youth of Nagaland are said to train.
In case you didn’t know…
At present, Nagaland has only one football stadium, i.e., the Indira Gandhi Stadium. The first ever captain of the Indian football team, Dr. Talimeren Ao came from the state of Nagaland. Claims are being made that the state is to conduct an All-State Futsal Tournament which is said to be hosted either in Kohima or Dimapur – with each of the districts sending a couple of teams for the tournament.
Heart of the matter
Having one of the finest armies in the world, the Indian soldiers have displayed their nerve on numerous occasions over the years. Be it a warfare, protecting our paradise-like Kashmir from not-so-friendly-neighbours Pakistan, or fighting at a glacier called Siachen, that witnesses temperatures abnormal to a layman – the Indian army has yet again ensured the public is made well aware of their efforts to give all they have got in order to put India out there among the top nations around the globe; and this time, it has come via their contributions towards sports, namely, football.
In a press release, the Assam Riffles claimed that the purpose of this football field is to provide aid to the talent of the local youth a platform in and around the Mokochung area to display their talent. The press release further added that projects such as this will help be of great help in the building of relations among the natives of the area and the Assam Riffles.
Additionally, the Union Ministry made a proposal to the Nagaland Youth Resources and Sports department regarding the construction of a hundred regular football grounds in the state, including ten indoor and outdoor stadiums.
What’s next?
These stadiums are said to be built under the bellwether curriculum of the ‘Khelo India’, recently introduced by the Government of India. Youth Resources and Sports Ministry has confirmed that they will be authorising the proposed project over the next three months.
All districts in Nagaland are projected to be covered astutely under this platform and each project will cost around Rs. 10 lakh. The project will progress the sports substructure of the state to a great degree.
Author’s take
With the Army and the BJP run government in the state taking profound action in the development of football in the state in the form of constructing stadiums across all districts of the area, this is bound to open various avenues for the youth of Nagaland. The North Eastern state will be on the radars of top scouts around the Asian football world in no time with the success of this plan.
