The Sundargarh police launched a year round training facility in football for children in the age group of 6-16 years on Thursday.
The training will be provided by experienced coaches of Ador Football Academy (AFA) who are certified by Manchester United as Grassroots soccer coach. A conducive environment will be provided to the kids along with looking after their dietary needs and logistical support. This is a community policing initiative of Sundargarh police with an aim to involve local children in sports in order to improve community participation and in turn reduce the use of drugs and involvement in criminal activities. Approximately 200 kids will benefit from the initiative in the first phase. Based on the output, the programme will be further modified.
The programme was launched on Thursday in presence of IG WR Kavita Jalan, Collector cum District Magistrate Nikhil Pawan Kalyan and SP Sundargarh Sagarika Nath at the Ekalavya ground in Reserve Police Lines, Sundargarh.
A demo match was conducted between the local team and kids from the slum areas of Saliasahi, Bhubaneswar who are presently being trained by the AFA.