Blasters hoping to kick-off a grassroots revolution in Kerala
To the delight of all the fans of Indian football, Kerala Blasters(KBFC) is all set to kick off a grassroots revolution in football crazy state of Kerala. Kerala Blasters Football School (KBFS) will commence an operation at the Ambedkar stadium in Kochi from August 11th, 2015.
A brainchild of the Sachin Tendulkar, the KBFS, is scheduled to operate from three more centres i.e. Thiruvananthapuram (Thiruvananthapuram’s University Stadium), Kozhikode (Corporation Stadium or at the Medical College) and Thrissur (Thrissur’s Corporation Stadium).
The Blasters’ technical director for grassroots, Terry Phelan said, “We’re not looking for quick fixes. It’s a long-term approach where the real foundation for progress for the youth and under-19 teams will be offered”.
At the launch of the first school in Kochi on 23rd July the Irishman Phelan, former Chelsea and Manchester City player, also added “This will be a football project where children are going to be thinking for themselves, where game intelligence will be given top priority”.
Initially, 180 students are expected to enter the programme
In six batches of 30 students each, a total of 180 students are expected to be given top notch football education under the umbrage of the KBFC. Physical education (PE) teachers from 27 “grassroots schools” have also been roped in to provide free basic coaching to their respective students during PT period. These PE teachers have been trained by Scott O’Donnell, the All India Football Federations (AIFF) head of academies with the assistance from the trained coaches of Kerala Football Association’s (KFA).
U.S. Sivakumar of Prodigy Sportz, the partner of the KBFC for conducting the programmes, said that “These grassroots or PE schools, where the Kerala Blasters and Prodigy Sports will be implementing the grassroots programme and where children will learn to enjoy playing football, will also act as feeder centres to send talented children to KBFS”.
Admission to the KBFS is now open for children between 10 and 13 years (born between 2002 and 2005).The monthly fee per student is Rs. 2000 with an annual enrolment fee of Rs. 5000 per player. Scholarships will also be offered for promising players.
K.M.I. Mather, the President of the KFA, which has arranged the grounds for the four schools, added “It’s a strong start for a bright future”. The future of football in Kerala in looking bright, indeed