MALAPPURAM/T’PURAM: At time when speculation is rife about the UDF fielding football star IM Vijayan in the assembly elections, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday sprang a surprise by naming the former India captain as the director of the Kerala Police Football Academy. While he is thrilled to take up the new role of helping groom future stars, the 51-year-old said he is more intent on completing his tenure with the Kerala Police, which he currently serves as Inspector of Police.
In an interview to TNIE, he said in a lighter vein that he would prefer to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha like Sachin Tendulkar rather than enter the electoral battle on behalf of a political party. All three fronts have sent feelers to contest, he said. The state’s first government-run football academy is set to begin operations in April.
It will function under the Kerala Police’s Malabar Special Police (MSP) battalion in Malappuram. Vijayan will be the first director of the academy which, in the long run, aims to develop a squad capable of competing in national tournaments.
Academy to train 75 players
MSP commandant Abdul Karim said the academy will provide training to as many as 75 trainees from the state belonging to the 10-18 age group. “The academy will conduct area-wise selection trials in April and training will commence in May. Players will be trained in three age-groups — under-13, under-15 and under-18. The academy will bear the cost of food, accommodation, coaching and education of the trainees,” Karim said.
Prior to this, MSP used to train 30 players in the 13-18 age-group chosen by the district sports council. Henceforth, the academy will directly select and train 75 players with the help of expert coaches to be appointed by Vijayan. The unit had earlier submitted a proposal for the football academy in connection with the MSP centenary celebrations and the state government agreed to the plan recently.
Karim said the academy will not become a major financial burden for the government since it will be run with the help of existing facilities at MSP hostels and buildings. “Later, the playground in the area will be converted into a stadium and accommodation for the trainees will be provided near the gallery on the lines of the IG Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram,” Karim added. A Sreekumar, president of the district sports council, said the academy will be able to provide systematic and scientific training. “Expert coaches of Kerala Police under the guidance of I M Vijayan will be able to impart such training,” he said.