Shillong, Mar 13: An international-level football academy in Shillong is in the works as part of the efforts of the Meghalaya government to develop sports in the state, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said today.
Speaking during the final of the Assam Rifles Invitational Football Cup today, Sangma said that the academy will nurture the talents of young boys and girls to skill them professionally in the sport.
“As a government we are focusing on sports. In the coming two years we will be investing more than Rs 450 crore to create different sports infrastructure throughout the state,” he added. “The government has already taken the initiative to upgrade the PA Sangma Stadium in Tura into an integrate sports complex. It will be a state-of-the-art facility dedicated exclusively to football.”
Spelling out the Government’s plans to develop football in the state the Chief Minister added that steps are afoot to create an international level football academy in Shillong to nurture the talents of young boys and girls to skill them professionally in the sport.
Meanwhile, in his address, Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen Sukhdeep Sangwan announced that in its pursuit of promoting sports in the North East, the Assam Rifles has succeeded in seeking the central government’s approval to convert the Assam Rifles Public School in Laitkor to a Sports School with funds released under the ‘Khelo India Initiative’.
“It will be only the second such school in the country on the lines of Sports School Rai, Sonepat in Haryana, which is a matter of great pride for Assam Rifles as well as for Meghalaya,” he said.
(File photo of Conrad Sangma)
