Dempo SC’s Football Academy set to begin operations in July

The Academy project will have an international sized grass pitch, work on which has already commenced. The grass pitch is expected to be ready to use by November 2017 along with the academy administration block, according to a official release.

The talented boys from the Academy after passing out would be absorbed in the Dempo Sports Club senior team and go on to play professional football at the highest level in India.

Dempo Sports Club’s state of the art football academy is all set to begin operations in July this year with the talent scouting process expected to commence from the first week of April.

The fully residential Academy would be located in the pristine hinterlands of Ella, about nine kilometres from Panjim and three kilometres from the Se Cathedral in Old Goa.

The Academy project will have an international sized grass pitch, work on which has already commenced. The grass pitch is expected to be ready to use by November 2017 along with the academy administration block, according to a official release.

Phase two of the project would see the player residences being completed along with the artificial turf. The Academy block would house the offices of the coaches and the Technical Director, along with the gymnasium, cafeteria, recreation room etc, while the accommodation would have rooms of high standards where the boys would stay and study in.

There are also long term plans of building a school of high international standards in the vacant land adjacent to the football academy.

As part of its commitment to football and youth development, Dempo’s ambitious plans would enable the youth of Goa to have a holistic development with football and academics being taken care of, it said.

Talks are in progress with schools within the radius of five kilometres, where the boys would be given admission and side by side be trained in footballing skills.

The duration of the stay would be for four years that will hopefully yield positive outcome and the boys would be taken on a full scholarship where all their footballing and academic needs would be catered to.

The talented boys from the Academy after passing out would be absorbed in the Dempo Sports Club senior team and go on to play professional football at the highest level in India and hopefully venture into foreign shores.

As part of its long-term plans, the academy will also look to tie up with a foreign club for technical exchange of modern training philosophy, sports science and nutrition.

Coach education would also be given utmost importance, the release added.