Sports Department mulls reopening sports academies

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 10

After a year of the COVID-19 pandemic halt, the UT Sports Department is planning to reopen state-run academies of football, hockey and cricket from the upcoming session after consulting the UT Education Department.

Expanding their functioning, the Sports Department is also planning to start organising various tournaments from the upcoming session.

While the proposal to reopen the academies has been sent to the higher authorities, the approval to conduct championships will be taken up once the Sports Department readies its tournament calendar.

“The academies are likely to open from the next session. We are also waiting to discuss the matter with the UT Education Department as our trainees study in government schools. Once they (trainees) reach Chandigarh, we cannot confine them to just coaching,” said Tejdeep Singh Saini, Director (Sports), UT Administration.

On conducting trials for selecting the new batch, Saini said: “The players selected in the last session will be retained and those passing out, will be given an NOC. If required, trials can be conducted but everything depends on opening up of the academies.”

Under these academies, trainees in the age group of 10-11 years were inducted in July 2007 in place of the senior football trainees on the completion of their seven-year tenure in the academy. The tenure of the junior string has been fixed as seven years as per the agreement signed with the parents of the trainees.

“It has now been nearly a year that our academies have been closed. If conditions normalise, we can start the new session from April onwards,” added Saini.

On conducting tournaments, Saini added: “We had not prepared the last session’s calendar speculating the high number of Covid-19 cases in the Union Territory. However, we have now decided to make our calendar and send it to the higher authorities for the final approval. Our aim is to start the championships soon. However, the factor of an increase in the number of coronavirus cases will be taken into account before finalising anything. Currently, all our training centres are functioning and local associations are even conducting championships.”

Besides conducting annual championships of all disciplines in all age groups, the UT Sports Department recently came up with cash-prize championships.

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