After traveling 12 kilometers from their hotel in Bengaluru to the Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) Sports Club, the football players from the Bangladesh national football team entered the club. At the same time, a group of younger football players was strolling off the artificial field.
The journalists from Bangladesh who were in town to cover the SAFF Championship were in pursuit, and when they arrived in town, they were met with beautiful green trees that created a quiet background for a peaceful training session.
Even more amazing is the fact that the HAF Sports Club, which is overseen by the Ministry of Defense, provides services to athletes competing in a variety of sports. In addition to a swimming pool and a fitness center, the complex has a cricket field, one court each for basketball and volleyball, artificial turf, and a grass-covered pitch.
The legendary Indian striker Bhaichung Bhutia, who scored against Bangladesh in the SAFF Championship finals in 1999 and 2005, was shown promoting his football school and providing a home for more than 300 football players at the HAL Sports Club. This shot drew the attention of the crowd.
Before Bhatia retired from the domestic circuit in 2015, he founded a number of Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (BBFS) in 2010 with the intention of paying back his nation. These BBFS are located all throughout the country. Schools in the area have been essential in the development of football players, with Rohit Kumar, a member of the Indian national team who plays midfield, being one of the more noteworthy graduates.
“This would be the fourth time that the BBFS has been held in Bengaluru. We have more than 370 young football players, ranging in age from under 6 to under 16 years old. According to what Fejin J Felix, the operations and business development manager of BBFS in Bengaluru told The Daily Star as Bangladesh were working out in the midday heat, there are 25 coaches who lead the training sessions, and five officials are in charge of everything else.
“We provide two different kinds of training. The first is known as foundation training, and everyone may participate in it. The second is known as development training. “Coaches provide foundation training for three hours per week and development training for six hours per week,” Felix stated. He also said that they were renting the facilities at a cost of 4 lakh rupees per month and that other sports clubs were utilizing the HAL Sports Club as well.
Felix said that “the school is mostly run with fees from the students,” and he was of the opinion that Bengaluru will become the centre of Indian football given the quantity of football-related activities in Karnataka. “The school is mostly run with fees from the students,” Felix said.
Before, there was just one league that took place in Bengaluru, but currently there are four different leagues. The super division has a total of 20 clubs, while divisions A and B each have a total of 10 and 14, respectively. “There are over two hundred clubs competing on a zonal level prior to a centralized tournament, from which only two teams are promoted,” Felix said. “The next level up is Division A.”
“If you compare the football culture of Kolkata or Kerala with that of Bengaluru, we are aware of the legacy that they have left behind. However, at the moment, Bengaluru is also flourishing, and it has a great deal of games at the grassroots level. There are things to do on three hundred out of every 365 days of the year. Felix said that the assistance of the Karnataka football organization was also very helpful. “In addition to that, there are knockout events, as well as five youth leagues spanning from the ages of nine to nineteen. In the next days, I anticipate that Bengaluru will emerge as a major center for football.