PANAJI: Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore announced Tuesday that his ministry was actively looking at recognising Sesa Football Academy as a partner in Khelo India.
Rathore, who was the special guest at an event organised by SESA Football Academy at their Sankhali Campus in Goa Tuesday, said: “Hopefully we will very soon be recognising Sesa Football Academy as a partner in Khelo India. My team will come here and see the infrastructure and the training that is happening.”
Annanya Agarwal, president of the Vedanta Football Project also spoke on the occasion: “It will be an honour to support government initiatives like Khelo India and we will be extending all possible support to our young athletes. At Vedanta, we want to take Indian football forward and remain committed to the upliftment of football from the grassroots levels.”
Established in 1999, SESA Football Academy is one of the first residential academies in India. Currently two running campuses, the academy has the unique distinction of developing the highest number of players for the national team, the ISL teams, the I-League teams and the Goa Pro League from the state.
The academy has 2 fully equipped and state of the art campuses – one at Sankhali and another at Sirsaim.
The academy in Sankhali was created on a reclaimed mine, about which the minister commented: “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for me to be here, in this place which would normally be a mine bereft of any green leaves. But it’s amazing to see the sort of work that Vedanta has done to convert the mines into the lovely forest that is here.”
Speaking on the efforts of the Vedanta Group to support women’s football, Rathore said: “It’s also wonderful to see that a Vedanta Women’s Football League has been started here. I would love to see these girls play for India and I would love India to dominate the world with our girls,” the minister told the gathering.
