There was a time when no sponsors, schools, or academies were interested in futsal. I was, and still am, very dedicated and passionate about this subject. Therefore, I organized futsal tournaments from my own savings to push the development of futsal in India forward.
There were a lot of personal hindrances, but they were unable to dampen my passion for this sport. Gradually, the tide started to change and in 2016 I organized small-sided tournaments with under-privileged players in Bengal in association with Slum Soccer.
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In 2017, I became a Match Commissioner in the All India Football Federation (AIFF). That way I got the opportunity to be an intrinsic part of officiating AIFF Youth Leagues. This allowed me to visit different districts of Bengal and conducted more than 100 matches in under 13, 15, and 18 categories.
Working with those kids made me more determined to provide opportunities to these raw talents. So, I organized Baby League under AIFF Project with 49 teams playing more than 324 matches in 2 seasons.
My dream, actually, was not restricted to organizing futsal tournaments, but to develop a pathway where we could nourish these talents. Bengal got its first Futsal Academy through Proindia Futsal Academy (PFA), which I direct, and is honored to have the FC Barcelona Futsal Coach & 5-time UEFA Futsal Championship winning coach Mr. Miguel Andres as the Technical Director.
My vision is to take Indian futsal to the next level. To help me with that, I organized an elite panel of International Mentors of Proindia Futsal Academy which comprises of:
- Michael Petro – Coach, Iran National Futsal Team
- Lino Gomes – Head Coach, Bahrain National Futsal Team
- Martin Perciavalle – UEFA Futsal B, UEFA Football B
- Silvio Crisari – Head Coach, Norway National Team
- Mark Potter – Former Coach, Scotland Futsal Team
Once again, I’d like to emphasize that I am very grateful to all the Mentors for supporting Proindia Futsal Academy and the Indian Futsal community.
I would also love to explain how the Proindia Futsal Academy development pathway works for every young futsal enthusiast in these next few points:
- Talent Identification Programs and development pathways for kids within the age group of 6 to 12 years through Futsal Specific Training Programs.
- PFA will conduct tournaments where they will have a Scouting & Analytics system.
- There will be a pool of 6 teams consisting of 8 players each for the age group of 19 & above.
- The Proindia Futsal Academy will follow the curriculum provided by PFA Mentors & will conduct online and live workshops on ‘Futsal Development’ for local coaches so that they can be well equipped to train the players. I will request the state association (IFA) to take care of them with the IFA elite coaches. I want to create a supply line to IFA through Proindia Futsal Academy. We intend to have a PFA team consisting of 10 players who will participate in different futsal tournaments across the country to gain match experience.
- I, as an IPSO and PFSA certified scout, will also conduct scout education sessions with the junior coaches of the PFA.
- Also, a mental strengthening session with Sports Psychologist Mr. Mreenal Chakraborty and sessions with Sports Nutritionists will take place.
The Proindia partnered with Share Football Clubs to start a futsal academy in the hilly area of Kalimpong, Bengal with around 35 kids. Yes, the ground is not the standard that I dream of, but I want to encourage and create awareness about futsal.
In Kolkata, PFA already has 4 centers which will be starting after the pandemic finishes. All the venues have superb infrastructures with artificial turfs.
I see this academy as a pathbreaker in taking futsal in India to internationally acclaimed standards and channelizing the raw talents to the future that their passion deserves.
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