Since last 4 years, Tata Football Academy (TFA) in association with Tata Steel has been organizing Coaching-cum-selection camps in different parts of Orissa. For the year 2009, the coaching-cum-selection camp has been organized today at the unit-6 play ground.

About 70 boys from Bolangir, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Mayurbhanj, Cuttack, Nayagarh,Khurda have participated in this selection camp. 20 out of the total participants have beenselected for a 15-day coaching camp at TFA, Jamshedpur. The successful footballers fromthe coaching camp at TFA may get inducted for further training. In a similar exercise earlier,Sk Mohammad Mustakin from a poor family in Cuttack has been picked up and trained.Mustakin is presently playing national and international matches.

Along with this camp, another selection for the slum boys of Bhubaneswar was alsoorganised here, where 25 boys have been selected to get trained at Tata Steel Feeder Centre(TSFC) at Duburi for one month. This training is supposed to start from last week of May2009.

Under the able guidance of Mr Vijay Kumar from TFA, the cadets of this camp atBhubaneswar have undergone stringent training and selection process.

TSFC was set up on April 14, 2008 at Duburi in Jajpur district by Tata Steel to harness andtrain young sports talents in Orissa. At TSFC experienced and reputed coaches from TFAimparts both basics and advanced training in football and archery to young talents of thestate in a phase wise manner. These youth talents are also sent to Tata Football Academyand Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur for better exposure and avail further advancedfacilities. TSFC is proud to have produced six stars in its first year of existence in the field offootball and archery, who have representated the state. More than 200 boys and girls fromvarious rural interiors of Orissa have been provided residential sports training facilities inthe sports feeder center at Duburi in last one year.

The camp was declared close with a formal function, where Shri Sidhant Das, IFS, MemberSecretary Orissa State Pollution Control Board-cum-Conservator, Bhubaneswar joined aschief guest and Shri Srinibas Mishra, Dy News Editor, Doordarshan as guest of honour. Mr BK Singh, Vice President, Orissa Project and Mr Rajesh Chintak, Chief Resident Executive,Orissa from Tata Steel were also present in the function along with several government,company official and sports lovers.

Tata Steel's Contribution in Sports
Tata Steel has promoted the sprit of adventure and passion for sports, imbibed from itsvisionary leaders. Tata Steel's employees comprise some of India's most outstanding sportspersons including 20 Olympians, over 100 international sports persons and the first Indianwomen to scale Mount Everest. It has set up three Sports Academies, namely, Tata FootballAcademy a known name in the soccer fraternity worldwide, Tata Archery Academy and TataAthletic Academy. In Orissa the Company has a built stadium at Keonjhar and Patnagarh inBolangir district besides sponsoring Kalinga Cup, Utkalika Cup, Biju Pattnaik Gold Cup,encourages sports through Tata Football Academy by selecting talented young footballers totrain them upto international standards. Inorder to promote rural sporting talents thecompany organizes coaching-cum-talent hunt camps regularly in archery and football invarious places of Orissa. Because at Tata Steel, sustainable development of Community isnot just a mission statement, but a living tradition. And will remain so forever.