Tata Steel's new ISL 2017 team: All you need to know about them

Tata Steel will field an ISL team next season

Tata Steel enters the ISL ring.

They have been unarguably at the forefront of grassroots development of Indian football. Now Tata Steel, the flagship arm of the conglomerate giant Tata Group, valued at US$ 18.12 billion and headquartered in Jamshedpur is set to further enrich the next edition of the lucrative ISL with their indulgence. They were one of the two additions to the ISL teams as was announced today in the evening taking the total count to ten.

A visibly enthused Sunil Bhaskaran, Vice President Corporate Services, Tata Steel and Chairman of Tata Football Academy (TFA) said, "A lot of time and thought has gone into our decision of wanting to be part of the Indian Super League. The biggest factor has been the interest of the long-term future of Indian football. A longer league is the right road ahead. This is a momentous occasion for Tata Steel, which has always been a pioneer in the development of sports in the country, especially football.”

He further explained the contribution that he hopes to make in the league which is quickly gaining ground as the country’s premiere sporting event, thus: “Our entry into the coveted Indian Super League reinforces our commitment to provide a fillip to the development of football in the country. We are extremely excited to have won the bid for our hometown Jamshedpur and will provide the best of facilities for football to prosper in the eastern part of our country."

Needless to say the new entrant to the ISL will benefit from TFA’s state of the art infrastructure facilities.

If you come to think of it, it was just a matter of time that the TFA, established in Jamshedpur in 1987, would get involved with ISL’s or any conducive league’s scheme of things. Many of players, who are plying their trade or had done so in both the ISL and I-League – at least about 20 and 8 respectively - are a result of TFA’s handiwork. Let’s see...there’s Udanta Singh – the kid with the meteoric rise in Indian footballing scenario, Narayan Das, who had played for Pune FC, Robin Singh, Indian backline sentinels - Mahesh Gawli and Deepak Mondal; then there’s Renedy Singh, Subrata Pal, Gouramangi Singh and of course many others. Out of 200 players that the Academy had trained so far, 135 of them have done duties for the country – now that’s a shade under 70% and on top of it, 19 of them have been commander-in-chief across various age groups.

It is not only TFA through which the Tata Group has influenced Indian football's scheme of things. Tata Trusts, a foundation that provides a platform for kids from northeast India to pursue football as a profession, falls under the Tata Group umbrella and has had a hand in providing foreign exposure to India's future generations. Young kids, who are handpicked, have been sent to residential programmes to Germany under Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim and henceforth, under Borussia Dortmund.

Tata's contribution to Indian football has now reached a peak with the bid result today. It remains to be seen how they approach the next phase: club and team building. Being part of ISL football, Tata Steel will have a direct influence at the very top of Indian football, both on and off the pitch, which only stands the sport in the country in good stead.

Former Olympian and Captain of the Indian Football Team Chuni Goswami, who also happened to be the very first Director of TFA, said: "Tatas have always been promoters of sports and have contributed a great deal to the cause of sports, be it football, hockey, athletics, etc, at an all-India level. TFA is a first-of-its-kind institution that was set up to groom budding footballers so that they can evolve into good footballers in course of time. I have been very lucky to be associated with TFA since its inception. I am very happy to know that Tatas continue to promote sports in a big way. It is only natural that Tatas are getting associated with ISL.”