Kolkata: The football crazy Bengalis have got a reason to cheer about. West Bengal government and La Liga have entered an MoU to lift the status of soccer through mutual collaborations.
The Spanish football league in a statement announced the move on Friday. Under this initiative, a football academy will be build in the City of Joy. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her visit to Spain inked the deal with the Spanish soccer body on Thursday. The Spanish style of football veered from tiki-taka to total football of late and the tenor is expected to enthrall the fans in Kolkata. Soccer crazy Bengalis, who have idolised Brazil and argentine soccer stars traditionally, developed a liking for Spanish football icons in recent times.
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“The signing of MOU between Govt of West Bengal and La Liga will bring a new glorious chapter for Bengal football. We are on our way to becoming the epicentre of football in India,” said Mamata Banerjee.
Banerjee held a meeting with president of La Liga, Javier Tebaj, one of the most prominent names in world football, on the day. Under the framework, La Liga will send experts, who will work in tandem with coaches, trainers and footballers in the state.
The football academy will come up in one of the districts in the state. La Liga President Tebaj praised Bengalis for their love for football.
The extract of his speech in Spanish read, "As we know, Bengal has the biggest number of football fans in India. There is no dearth of talent in Bengal. Some of the best players in Indian football have emerged from here. We want to work for the development of football in Bengal. We have signed an MoU for that purpose."
He continued, "The improvement of football requires the joint efforts of various clubs and political leadership. Not only India, the same method is applied across the world. I am sure West Bengal has both. La Liga wants to be a partner in the development of Bengali football. Thank you for trusting us. We will start working together soon."
Mamata thanked the La Liga president for his initiative. Referring to Bengal's love for football, the Chief Minister said that the people of Bengal love football. "There are numerous football talents scattered in every nook and corner of our state, and if the La Liga academy is built, they will also come to the limelight in the coming days," she said.
Incidentally, former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly was present at the meeting, along with Debashish Dutta of Mohun Bagan Club, and Ishtiaq Ahmed of Mohammedan Sporting Club. No representative from the East Bengal club has reached Spain but Aditya Agarwal, the representative of club sponsor Emami, was present at the meeting.
