Techno India collaborates with Manchester City to launch premier football school in Bengal
Kolkata: ‘Sob khelar sera Bangalir tumi football’ — this implies that among all sports, football is the best for Bengalis.
For Bengalis, football isn’t merely a sport but a manifestation of cultural expression and regional pride that captures the essence of the deep-rooted passion and cultural association Bengalis have with football.
The relationship between football and Bengali society is complex, intertwining history, emotion, and cultural identity in unique ways.
Henceforth, football has become the cultural pioneer to engage Kolkata with another global torchbearer of this sport, i.e., Manchester City Club.
While football is a global sport, Americans and Europeans refer to it as soccer.
Football is more than just a game performed in clubs or by professionals. It is deeply entwined with education and the academic experience.
A student’s participation in football competitions at their academic institution results in lifelong learning. It’s not only a game to be taken into consideration; it provides a clear sky for one to soar high and come out with flying colours.
Techno India Group, one of the leading groups of academic institutions in Bengal, took the initiative to discover football as a professional course and training by collaborating with City Football Group. Techno India Group officially partnered with City Football Group to launch the first-ever Manchester City Football School in West Bengal, marking a new era in Indian football development.
The auspicious celebration and announcement of the collaboration took place on the 25th of September at the amphitheatre of the Sister Nivedita University campus, Kolkata.
The university campus was packed from early morning to witness Manchester City’s Premier League trophy tour where the Former Manchester City star Shaun Wright Phillips was waiting as well.
Manchester City Football Club, commonly referred to as Man City or simply City, is a professional football club based in Manchester, England.
The club competes in the English Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark’s (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894.
The privilege of being associated with such a prestigious football club would be a win-win situation.
The ultimate initiator of this ‘khela hobe’ moment is none other than the director of Techno India Group, Debdut Roychowdhury, who will be heading the establishment of an entire sports hub in Bengal.
This historic event was a real dream come true for several students, which made them attend the celebration from all over different universities during such a heavy downpour. The students witnessed the
presence of the legendary footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips with the showstoppers Manchester City’s celebrated 4-in-a-row win English Premier League trophies at the university campus as a part of the Champions Trophy Tour.
On the day of the event, despite the heavy weather, the enthusiasm of the students was still intact. The university campus was packed from early morning to witness Manchester City’s Premier League trophy tour along with the former Manchester City star Shaun Wright Phillips. The former star entered SNU in the rain on Wednesday afternoon. Crowds flocked to catch a glimpse of the British winger. Wright did not disappoint.
The former star of Manchester City can be seen grabbing the ball and taking multiple shots at goal. The frenzy of football fans was a sight to behold.
About 5000 students witnessed this historic event in the rain. Sean Wright Phillips was there for about a couple of hours. He had a photo session with the kids and also took a smiling selfie with the students.
The football carnival runs throughout the day with various activities, starting with a football quiz. Techno India Group Director Debdut Roychowdhury astonishingly said, “Manchester City officials were surprised to see so many people’s interest in the rain. We expected 800 to 1000 registrations. There have been 5,000.
This number says it all. We think parents have no interest or enthusiasm for the game. But this error is broken. They are more enthusiastic.”
Debdut Roychowdhury, the son of Sister Nivedita University’s Chancellor Satyam Roychowdhury and the Director of Techno India Group, took charge of the event and made it flawless.
He said: “The EPL trophy in front of the eyes is like a dream. We grew up watching the English Premier League.
So visualising this trophy has a different emotion. After Delhi, this trophy tour was supposed to be held in Abu Dhabi. But Kolkata is the city of football. We thought why fans here couldn’t witness this experience? The people of Man City are overwhelmed by coming here.”
The school aims to nurture young talent nationwide by offering players a unique blend of world-class football coaching and a strong sports foundation.
Athletes between the ages of three and seventeen will be served by the football school, which will offer them elite instruction under the direction of full-time Manchester City coaches chosen by City Football Group.
These coaches will implement Manchester City’s renowned training methodology, tailored to each player’s skill level and designed to elevate young athletes to international standards.
Debdut Roychowdhury said: “Our main goal is to promote grassroots development. We want to provide infrastructure like Manchester City in Kolkata.
From equipment training, everything will be of international standards. Experienced coaches will come from there.
Children will be sent there. As if they can come back from there and say they get the same infrastructure in Kolkata too. This is our goal.”
Techno Group started talks with Manchester City in January 2023. It took one and a half years for its implementation.
Although the initial contract with the English Premier League club was for three years, it has been extended to 10 years.
There are plans to have football schools in five other cities besides Kolkata in the future.
The focus will be on the North East, aiming at building a sports hub.
