Manipur to sign MoU with AIFF for opening football academy

Imphal: Embarking on a mission to develop and promote the game of football in the Northeastern states, Manipur is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for setting up a football academy for logistics and other support.

This was announced by the Manipur Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, during the opening function of the historic Hero tri-nation international football tournament here on Wednesday.

“We’ll be signing the MoU during AIFF chief Kaylan Chaubey’s visit on the closing match of the tournament on February 28,” Singh said.

Terming as fortunate for the state to host the Hero Tri-Nation International Football Tournament, he has appreciated the AIFF chief and his team for acknowledging the potential of Manipuri players and the state’s love for football and also giving the state an opportunity to host the tri-nation football tourney.

“It is also a proud moment that the Indian national team has around 6/7 players from our small state,” Singh said and appealed to the people to attend the matches and show discipline and decency during the tournament.

It may be mentioned that the state of Manipur has emerged as the football factory of India as it contributed about 43 players in the Indian Super League men’s professional top tier in Indian football league system.

The opening function of the tri-nation tourney was marked by colourful performance by different traditional dance groups including the Rhythm of Manipur-the dancing drummers of the state. It was attended by ministers Konthoujam Govindas (Youth Affairs and Sports), Th. Biswajit (Works), Awangbow Newmai (Water Resources), Letpao Haokip (Tribal Affairs and Hills), Nemcha kipgen (Commerce and Industries), L Susindro (Consumer Affairs), MLAs, former Union Minister and Padmashree Awardee, Th. Chaoba Singh and others.

Despite an overshadowed sky, the main stadium at Khuman Lampak sports complex in Imphal looked full with official attendance recorded to be 29,341 on the opening function followed by a match won by India by 1-0 goal against Myanmar.

For the first time in the history of football, people of Manipur are witnessing the Indian national football team playing with Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan teams in the Hero tri-nation tourney on Manipur soil from March 22-28.The first match was played with Myanmar team on Wednesday, while the second match would be played with Kyrgyzstan on March 28.