West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with La Liga President Javier Tebas and former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.
Credit: PTI
La Liga, the Spanish football league, will develop a football training academy in West Bengal.
An agreement with West Bengal got shaped in the form of a MoU in Madrid on Thursday. “Following discussions today, we signed a memorandum of understanding that La Liga will start their football academy in Bengal very soon,” Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a foreign tour, promoting Bengal’s global business summit, said.
“La Liga has agreed to serve as a partner and a platform for the development of talented young players of West Bengal in coordination with the local Football Federations and other local grassroots football organisations and developing various sports training projects,” an official note stated. “La Liga will develop a football training academy including infrastructure and coaching facilities within the state of West Bengal,” it added.
Under the agreement, state’s coaches and players may be trained by La Liga’s coaches. The Spanish league – with its expertise – will also assist Bengal’s football clubs in turning self-sustainable.
Banerjee held a closed-door meeting with the La Liga president, and his team. An official update added that the meeting was about building stronger relations between the two regions. The moves in this direction include linking sports and cultural institutions, promoting women’s football, supporting football’s growth, and professionalising the sport in Bengal.
“The meeting explored areas of mutual collaboration through exchange of technical know-how and exchange of talents to uplift growth of football in Bengal,” the note added.
During a programme in Madrid on Thursday, attended by Javier Tebas, president, La Liga, Banerjee said: “Be our guest, feel the football mania in Bengal. The kind of football frenzy you witness in Bengal is unparalleled.” An official note quoted Tebas, as saying, “I have no doubt that Bengal is the talent factory of football and has produced some of India’s finest players.” Former cricketer from Bengal, Sourav Ganguly, was present at the event.