Hill girls find place in residential football

SNS, DARJEELING 11 SEPTEMBER 21 : Twenty-one girls have been shortlisted from the Hills as students of West Bengal's first ever girls' fully residential academy in Kalimpong.

Debanjan Share Girl's Academy (DSGA), an initiative of the Kolkata-based Debanjan Sen Foundation (DSF) and the Kalimpong based Share Football Club (SFC), is all set to begin its journey on 20 September, with selections of the first hatch of students over yesterday.

"We held trials in Darjeeling on 29 August and one in Kalimpong on the 31st.ln Darjeeling,130 girls had taken part, among whom 38 were chosen, and in Kalimpong, 23 of the 78 players were selected. The final selection was done from these figures in Kalimpong, among whom 21 will now be students of the Academy," SFC secretary Norden Michael Lepcha said.

The academy in Kalimpong town will provide everything for free, including accommodation, training and food. Apart from that, it will also fund scholarship for deserving students from the next academic session.

According to Mr Lepcha, training for the girls will begin on 21 September at Carmichael ground in Kalimpong. The girls will be instructed by one head instructor, Jayabrato Bose, and another instructor Saje Pradhan. Apart from that, there will also be four coaches from the club itself.

"It is interesting that most of the girls are mostly from rural areas like Rimbick, Simana, Bijanbari and Dabaipani in Darjeeling and places like Todey Tangta, Khagey and Khani in Kalimpong," said Mr Lepcha. adding that their ages were under 17 and four of them were under 19. The Club had started a football academy for boys in 2013, from where they have already trained around 80 players.