The Government of West Bengal has entered a Memorandum of Understanding with La Liga to start a football academy and develop the sport in the Indian state. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee signed the MoU with La Liga President Javier Tebas in Madrid during her Spain tour in the presence of former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.
“On behalf of all of us, including football and sports lovers, we convey our gratitude and humble regards to Javier Tebas and his team. Following discussions today, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding that La Liga will start their football academy in Bengal very soon.” Mamata Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister stated that they came to Spain with the great hope that the great La Liga would start a football academy in Bengal so that Bengal-based clubs, players, sportspersons, and younger generations could build a future like Messi and Ronaldo.
“Acquiring land for the construction of the said academy in Bengal will not be a problem. I want to tell the La Liga President that whatever they need, we are ready to do it. But we want to see that La Liga helps in producing sportspersons like Messi and Ronaldo from Bengal,” Mamata Banerjee added.
La Liga will inspect the development of excellent projects in the state, in addition to improving talent identification, infrastructure development, and coach education. Furthermore, La Liga will look into opportunities for regional football administrators, players, and coaches to be trained in the La Liga methodology.
“We are thrilled to embark on this exciting journey with the Government of West Bengal to elevate football development in the region, taking advantage of the experience we have after more than 90 years leading professional soccer in Spain, and more specifically in the seven years that LALIGA has been in India since opening its office in 2016. This Memorandum of Understanding signifies our commitment to the people of West Bengal as jointly aim to create a self-sustaining football ecosystem, that will nurture talent in line with their rich heritage. Through knowledge sharing and collaboration, we will work towards building a brighter future for Indian football,” said Tebas.
