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Friday, February 10 saw the launch of Bengaluru’s first private residential football academy under the name of RFC Football Academy in Kengeri.
Distinguished members of the sports and football community including N.A. Haris (Bangalore – Shantinagar, MLA) and Karnataka State Football Association president and M.P. Swamy, Bangalore District Football Association chairman, as well as Harshith Shashidhar, a young budding International Athlete were present.
The RFC Football Academy will launch its very first batch for aspiring players in June 2017, with the aim of developing talent and producing professional players.
The vision of RFC Football Academy is to build professional players and bridge the gap between passion for the game and professional training.
Sharath Kamath, Co-founder of RFC Football Academy states, “Having been exposed to players from various walks of life, it is evident that there is talent, but also an eminent need to nurture it in the right way. I believe with our team of expert coaches and the type of infrastructure we are looking to provide these students, they will
be able to reach their truest football potential and take the future of Indian football to newer heights. We are already trying to build a team of homegrown players and give them the right platforms to develop further through the Rebels Football Club (RFC). RFC has recently added to it’s midst, Sanoj N., an ex I-League second division player with BEML, with immense potential. We are very lucky to have him as a role model to our students.”
Addressing the gathering at the inauguration, the Chief Guest N.A. Haris said, “Football, being a young and rapidly budding sport in India, needs more encouragement and platforms, which simulate the development of players from a widely existing talent pool. “A change in the football scenario has to be a bottom-up approach. If children are given the right training and correct guidance while they are young, they will excel to be world-class players one day and take the Football prowess of the nation ahead. It is heartening to see the RFC Football Academy committing to this development by taking it’s own step in that direction.”
M.P. Swamy in his speech addressed how football is growing in ranks in the country. “Football is reaching the hearts and minds of millions in the country. What India lacks is not talent. What she lacks is the right level of infrastructure and the correct training and guidance. RFC Football Academy is providing both. It is taking care of all the needs of a young budding footballer, by giving equal importance to both, football and academics, something that has been missing in the environment.”
The Academy claims to have a focused approach to developing talent at different stages from the Grassroots Level to their Youth Programme. RFC Football Academy, a product of the Rebels Football Club, serves as an architect to provide platforms and the best possible training to ‘grow’ football talent from the very grassroots stages. The RFC Football Academy has grassroots centres across the city and is now extending to the youth a platform in the form of its stellar residential academy to further develop talent on a professional level.
With the playing field and player residence in Kengeri, RFC has tied up with educational institutions as well to provide the players with exemplary facilities to education alongside their football training.
Co-Founder of RFC Football Academy, Preetham Chandra, elucidates on how the residential academy is RFCFA’s vehicle for grooming talent into the professional footballers of tomorrow. “When we began RFC Football Academy, the game plan was to provide the best possible training to budding footballers that will take India to the next level of football excellence. With the residential facility, we aim to step up the academy’s commitment to the development of football by bringing forth a way for a players to excel and set them on the pathway to professional football.”
RFC Football Academy’s motto – train to be the best – is driven from its coaching and fitness philosophies, which surpass the current norms for football training. The Academy focuses on developing players through a deep-rooted sports science approach. A performance coach and injury management consultant by profession, Abhishek Jagan, is the High Performance coach of the RFC Football Academy. Abhishek states, “While a player goes through the development cycle,
there are a number of factors that contribute to his playing skills. The sports science approach helps study and act on each of these so that the overall program is tuned to enhancing every player that walks in through our doors. We are excited by the prospect of making a difference in each of our student’s lives.”
As football is on the brink of flourishing rapidly in the country, the RFC Football Academy looks to fuel India’s prospects in developing players who complete at the global level. The core understanding of the managing and coaching team is that players need to be groomed in the optimum manner with the right mentorship and training philosophies, forms the foundations of the RFCFA’s residential wing.
