Tata Football Academy organises its 13th Convocation

~20 Cadets from 7 States were awarded with certificates~

~5 graduating cadets have already played for national and regional teams~

~So far, 146 TFA cadets have represented the country while 24 have captained various teams~

The convocation ceremony for the 14th batch of Tata Football Academy (TFA) was held today at the Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur.  The graduating batch consisted of 20 cadets from 7 states from across the country. 

5 out of the 20 graduating cadets of 14th batch have already represented the country in various age group tournaments and one has represented the Jharkhand state team in the Santosh Trophy. One of the cadets of this batch, SandipMandi, has been offered a professional contract with the Jamshedpur Football Club.  In the last four years, the passing out batch had won two tournaments, one zonal league championship, a league match and runner-up in one tournament.

In view of the safety protocols including mandatory social distancing and guidelines put in place due to COVID-19, the graduation ceremony was kept as a low-key affair.  The event was organized in the presence of Mr. Farzan R. Heerjee, Chief Protocol and Sports, Tata Steel and Mr. MukulChoudhari, Chief Sports Excellence Centre, Tata Steel. Video recorded messages from Mr. T V Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel and Mr. Chanakya Choudhary, Vice President Corporate Services, congratulating the graduates were played at the venue.

Since 1987, a total of 252 cadets have graduated from TFA of which 146 have represented the country while 24 have captained Indian football teams in various age group tournaments. The basic was set up to provide the mainstream of national football with a perennial pool of young footballers trained and oriented to international standards. Budding talent is scouted for all over the country in the age group of 14 years, trained for four years and fed to the mainstream after graduation and at the expiry of a conditional contract, to seek a career in professional football.

Unique in Asia, the Academy is geared to molding tomorrow’s winners – a dynamic new breed of footballers – dedicated to performing at international levels of excellence, who embody within themselves the promise of success.

Success record of the 14th batch of Tata Football Academy:

Winners:

• All India Biju Patnaik Football Tournament
• Tata Utkalika Football Tournament
• I League Zonal Champions for U16 & U18
• JSA League 2018

Runner-up:

• Nayagarh Football Tournament