TFA to tie up with Sao Paulo and UK soccer clubs

Jamshedpur, June 9 (UNI) Tata Football Academy (TFA) is negotiating with Sao Paulo club of Brazil and three England's clubs for improvement of its pool of players.

Interacting with mediapersons here, TFA boss and Tata Steel Deputy Managing director (Corporate Service) A N Singh said, ''We are negotiating with Brazil football and European soccer clubs on how to improve our soccer players' pool, so that its supply line could be channelised for top quality palyers''.

He said efforts were on for the past one year and could be finalised within three to four months to mark the TISCO's centenary year. TISCO was launched in 1907.

Mr Singh said negotiation were on for exchange of soccer techniques, methods of training in Europe and Latin America, managerical skills and if possible to accomodate some TFA's players into their clubs for local tournaments.

Since its inception in 1987, TFA has produced 129 players, Of them 107 have represented India in international tournaments.

Some noteworthy players were Aloke Das, who captained the Indian side, Careton Chapman, Deepak Mondal, Renedy Singh and Kalyan Choubey.

Every alternate year TFA recruits 20 cadets after a rigorous screening process across the country and involve them in four-year in-house training.

It has a total of two batches, each with a group of 20. After graduation, the players are released to soccer clubs in the country.

Mr Singh said the TFA has, after two successful decades, aimed to improve the standard of technique and skill of the players so that India could profit in international soccer out of its pool. TFA emerged champion in the 2005-06 NFL's second division and had refused to play in the first division as qualifier under AIFF rule. Explaining this, Mr Singh said TFA is not a club and further concentration in top soccer national league would defeat the spirit of TFA. However, TFA would continue to play in some tournaments of the country to give the boys exposure of match temperament.

TFA was also planning to host a major soccer tournament at the end of this year with top clubs of the country to mark the TISCO's 100th year of eastablishment.

TFA's senior manager Asoke Ghosh said a ten-day soccer tournament with clubs from three major teams of Kolkata and top clubs of other parts of the country will be hosted some time in December.

UNI