Bhutia seeks support for residential academy

BENGALURU: He is yet to receive any support from the government or the football federation to promote his pet project but former India skipper Bhaichung Bhutia is a on a mission to nurture talent. Bhutia and two of his friends Kishore and Anurag launched the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools in 2010 and the academy now trains more than 2,000 kids across nine cities in India.
Launching his centres at Harvest International school here, Bhutia shared his plans."It's our dream to start a residential academy with the help of corporate sponsors where kids from every part of the country can train. The day we get a sponsor we will be happy to do it. Currently we don't have one and we are running the show with the revenue generated from training kids. We don't have any support from the government or the federation. It's a private initiative. Hopefully, in the years to come, we will get support," Bhutia said.
"Initially we pooled in our own money. I have two partners, Kishore, an IIT and IIM graduate and Anurag, an IIT man. Initially, there was no investment as it was not a residential academy. Now, our company has grown to sustain itself and we have pool of 120 coaches including three A-license holders," he said.
Stressing the importance of talent scouting, Bhutia illustrated the case of Lionel Messi. "When Messi was 11-years-old, a scout from Argentina spotted him. Along with him, they flew his entire family to Spain. We also have lot of Messis but we are losing them. If Messi was born in India, do you think he would have ever been the same?" he said.
Bhutia said he had high hopes for his talent hunt. "Bengaluru is a city where football is big. Over the years, Karnataka has been one of the top football centres in India. We hope to unearth some of the best talent in the area who will go on to play for the India, ISL and I-league clubs," he added.